More than 50 national and international scientific, health, patient and civil society organizations, including the Tobacco Control Unit (UCT) of the Catalan Institute of Oncology, have sent an open letter –led by Nofumdaores.org and the Sociedad Aragonesa Libre de Tabaco (SALT)– to Spanish policymakers demanding that they stop asking for more evidence on the effectiveness of plain tobacco packaging and that they support the measure to start saving lives.
Generic packaging removes marketing elements such as attractive colors, logos, typography and designs, forcing products to be presented in standardized, neutral and unattractive packaging. The brand, legal information and health warnings are maintained and enhanced. This measure has proven to be an effective way of neutralizing the seductive power of packages, especially among young people.
Although the tobacco industry insists that there is no evidence that plain packaging reduces tobacco consumption, scientific evidence indicates the opposite: five independent systematic reviews, more than a decade of studies and the experience of countries such as Australia – where the measure has been in force since 2012 – demonstrate that plain packaging reduces the intention to start smoking among young people , decreases the misperception that some brands are “less harmful” and reinforces the deterrent effect of graphic health warnings.
The measure, despite being widely supported by scientific evidence, disappeared from the version of the Comprehensive Plan for the Prevention and Control of Smoking 2024-2027, approved by the Council of Ministers due to pressure from the Ministry of Finance and is currently under attack by the tobacco industry, which operates through different political groups.
“Policymakers have a moral and public health obligation to act decisively. Implement plain tobacco packaging now. Let’s stop lining the pockets of an industry that traffics in death and start protecting the health of our citizens. The evidence is sufficient; political will is now the only missing ingredient,” the letter concludes.