I’ve been smiling at the recent discussions in the UK about introducing plain packaging of tobacco products.

Not because I think it’s a good idea:  I think it’s bollocks.
Not because it’s based on decent and honest research:  it’s based on complete tosh.
And certainly not because it will prevent even one 10 year old from trying smoking:  it won’t.

It’s because I’m reminded that every summer Greece’s leading cigarette manufacturer, Karelia, produces a special edition of packets with lovely pictures featuring the best of Greece.  This summer is no exception and amongst the pictures of yachts in the Aegean and ancient temples I have chosen the one above: beautiful bougainvillaea. They’re nice cigarettes as well and I brought back a few hundred for my own personal use.

The health warning in Greek translates as the more familiar: ‘Smoking seriously harms you and those around you’.

For more detailed analysis of the analytical tosh and political machinations behind plain packaging you could do worse than visit Chris Snowden’s posts below, although many excellent bloggers have also written on the subject.

The Plain Packs Meta-Lie (Part One)
The Plain Packs Meta-Lie (Part Two)