Ban on Tobacco and Governments Attempts to Regulate It - Essay Example

The white paper in 1998 promised new action to tackle tobacco to reduce 1, 06,000 deaths in UK due to smoking. The regulation targets the nine million adults in UK, who still smoke in 2002. Now it has been decreased, but still there is reasonable number of smokers in UK, which needs regulation. According to Statutory instrument 2006 No. 3368 UK regulations ensure smoke free premises and enforcement. According to the act, the smoking is banned in enclosed premises as the smoking in them may result in polluted environment.

The responsibility of enforcement of the act lies with port health authority and unitary authority. As the authorities are entitled with the responsibility of ensuring smoke free enclosures or premises, they have to be prepared with the legal aspects that help in enforcement. The important aspect in regulating the smoking is to stop the production. As it does not happen with the above regulation, the government is trying to minimise the consumption and is trying to make the closed premises smoke and pollution free, so that the passive smokers as well as smokers can avoid some serious diseases.

In addition to the above context, Government tried to regulate the tobacco by labelling of packaging, regulating the content in tobacco products, restricting the sale of tobacco to young people of a certain age limit. However, the last aspect in the just mentioned topics cannot be implemented properly as the administration cannot contain the sale of tobacco products to children or young people of certain age. In case of second aspect mentioned above, the restrictions of sale of tobacco resulted in counterfeit sales of cigarettes and other tobacco products and it resulted in loss to exchequer despite sales going on.

The labelling of packaging is not much effective as most of the smokers do not buy packets of cigarettes. Though it is effective in some classes of people, the labelling did not decrease smoking in lower economic class people who buy cigarettes not as a pack but single cigarettes. In addition to that the legislation made in 2002 regarding manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco products resulted in hard hitting health warnings. The act prohibited the advertisements of cigarette and tobacco product manufacturing companies, which indicate that they are less injurious to health.

The Government started to give picture warnings, which are understandable with least reading and concentration. The picture warnings started from 2008 on cigarette denoting that the people will die a slow death by smoking cigarettes, which indicates premature death. However, the premature death cannot restrain young or energetic smokers who do not care much about health and death as they are strong enough. However, the above signals can restrain middle aged and old aged smokers who face health problems due to smoking.

Hence, the graphic picture warnings on cigarette packs regarding rotting teeth and lungs, throat cancer can create thinking in smokers about their health from 1st October. Out of millions of smokers, just 90,000 smokers called NHS smoking helpline to know about the health problems and ways and means to quit smoking. The statutory instruments did not turn out to be a full success as only small amount of the