NHS Norfolk and Waveney is supporting a campaign – ‘plain packs protect’ – to turn off the tap of new smokers in the county.

Every year in the UK, 340,000 children will experiment with smoking.

Smokers start as children – two thirds of smokers start before they are 18 – and continue into adulthood as addicts.

Research shows that children are more likely to be lured by the colourful, glitzy or glamorous tobacco packs currently available than if tobacco was sold in plain packs. Currently, brands are marketed in shiny, holographic packs, or as ‘super slims’ which are particularly attractive to young women.

That’s why NHS Norfolk and Waveney is backing a campaign to raise awareness of how tobacco pack branding is being used by tobacco manufacturers to recruit new, vulnerable young smokers each year. The ‘plain packs protect’ campaign is backed by Cancer Research UK, the British Heart Foundation and the Royal College of Physicians.

Lucy Macleod, a consultant in public health at NHS Norfolk and Waveney, said: “Smoking kills half of all smokers. But young people are not always aware of the risks when they experiment with smoking. We must act now to protect our children becoming the future generation of smokers and from taking up this fatal habit.”

Vicki Snelgrove, Tobacco Control Commissioning Advisor at NHS Norfolk and Waveney, said: “Tobacco packaging remains one of the last ways that the tobacco industry is able to market their products to the next generation.

“I would urge people in Norfolk and Waveney to take a moment to pledge their support for plain tobacco packaging at www.plainpacksprotect.co.uk and help protect our children from a lifetime of smoking.”

The Government has committed to consult on plain packaging from Spring 2012. Anyone can respond to the consultation and have their voice heard. Australia has already passed legislation which will introduce plain packaging from December 2012.