The UK is considering inserting stickers inside cigarette packs to encourage smokers to quit.

The UK Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) announced it has launched a consultation to gather views on the design of information stickers and their inclusion in packs, particularly for cigarettes and rolling tobacco. These messages would take the form of inserts and would address the health and financial benefits of quitting while highlighting existing support, the department said.

According to the Office for National Statistics, in 2021, around 13% of people aged 18 and over in the UK smoked, or around 6.6 million people. This prevalence remains higher among men than women. While these figures represent the lowest proportion of smokers recorded since 2011, the government hopes to reduce this rate to 5% or fewer by 2030. However, experts have warned that the target will not be met without further action.[1].

The stickers, a measure that would allow 30,000 smokers to consider quitting

Smoking remains the leading preventable cause of illness and death in the UK. It accounts for nearly 4% of all hospital admissions each year, the equivalent of nearly 450,000 admissions. It is also estimated that tobacco costs taxpayers around £21 billion each year, including more than £2 billion for the National Health Service.

Placed inside cigarette and rolling tobacco packs, the proposed stickers would showcase the health benefits of quitting smoking—for example, improved breathing within days and a 50% reduction in the risk of heart attack within a year. They would also show smokers how much money they can save by quitting, with someone smoking 10 cigarettes a day likely to save more than £2,000 a year.

The stickers inside packs are already in use in other countries, including Canada and Israel, with Australia also announcing its intention to introduce them. This measure has been shown to be an effective way to encourage smokers to quit. An evaluation of the policy's impact in Canada found that nearly one in three smokers had read the inserts at least once in the previous month, and those who had been exposed to the inserts repeatedly were significantly more likely to try to quit.

According to the British government press release[2], introducing messages on all tobacco product packaging in the UK could result in an additional 30,000 smokers stopping using tobacco products, resulting in health benefits worth £1.6 billion.

Deborah Arnott, executive director of Action on Smoking and Health, said it takes smokers an average of 30 attempts before they finally quit, so it's essential to encourage them to continue their efforts by all means. Last May, Canada went further by becoming the first country in the world to announce the requirement to print health warnings on cigarette paper. This measure came into effect on August 1, 2023, and will be phased in gradually.[3].

Keywords: United Kingdom, health warnings, packets, stickers, tobacco, smoking cessation

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[1] Nicola Davis, Cigarette packs could soon include advice on how to quit smoking, The Guardian, published August 14, 2023, accessed August 18, 2023

[2] Press release, New inserts in cigarette packs to help smokers quit, UK Government website, published 14 August 2023, accessed 18 August 2023

[3] Tobacco-free generation, Canada adopts health warnings on cigarettes, published June 9, 2023, accessed August 18, 2023

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