Cigarettes could be sold in plain packets under plans being considered by ministers to cut the number of young smokers. Health Secretary Andrew Lansley wants to ban 'glitzy designs' that he says make smoking more appealing. Ministers also argue that white boxes give a false 'healthy image'.

Ministers want to see if changing cigarette packet appearance could deter children from taking up smoking and support people who are trying to quit, the spokeswoman said. Plain packs would just show only basic information and health and picture warnings. Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said: 'We have to try new approaches and take decisions to benefit the population.

'That's why I want to look at the idea of plain packaging. The evidence is clear that packaging helps to recruit smokers, so it makes sense to consider having less attractive packaging. 'It's wrong that children are being attracted to smoke by glitzy designs on packets. 'We would prefer it if people did not smoke and adults will still be able to buy cigarettes, but children should be protected from the start.

'The levels of poor health and deaths from smoking are still far too high, and the cost to the NHS and the economy is vast. That money could be used to educate our children and treat cancer.

相關(guān)中文：

英國(guó)新任衛(wèi)生大臣安德魯·蘭斯里(Andrew Lansley)香煙盒包裝需“大變樣”，改換成只標(biāo)明基本信息以及對(duì)健康有害警告的“樸素包裝”。該舉措意在減少香煙對(duì)年輕人的吸引力并控制吸煙低齡化愈發(fā)嚴(yán)重的趨勢(shì)。據(jù)悉，因現(xiàn)在香煙盒包裝過于“華麗與炫目”而對(duì)青少年形成“吸煙很酷”的負(fù)面影響，大臣還建議包裝盒應(yīng)使用白底并配上善意的警示圖片。

英衛(wèi)生大臣安德魯·蘭斯里(Andrew Lansley)想通過措施讓孩子遠(yuǎn)離香煙，同時(shí)向那些企圖戒煙的人群提供支持和幫助。新的煙盒將改頭換面，以“素顏”示人，煙盒上只標(biāo)明生產(chǎn)日期以及警告話語(yǔ)。

他說：“我們一直在尋求降低吸煙人群的數(shù)量，這次我們決定從煙盒包裝開始做起。因?yàn)槿A麗的煙盒或多或少會(huì)誘惑年輕的煙民嘗試吸煙，素顏后的煙盒至少能一定程度上減少它對(duì)年輕人的誘惑力?！?/p>

據(jù)悉，因吸煙而導(dǎo)致死亡的人數(shù)呈逐年遞增的趨勢(shì)，英國(guó)國(guó)民健康保險(xiǎn)為此每年承受著巨大的經(jīng)濟(jì)壓力。