Opponents of plain packaging of tobacco have urged the government to publish the report on its 2014 consultation “promptly” and “without further delay”.
With the Government announcing last month that it would hold a free vote on plain packaging before the General Election, smoker’s group Forest has led calls for the report to be made public immediately.
Nick de Bois, Conservative MP for Enfield North, said it was ludicrous for ministers to withhold the report given that they wish to press ahead with standardised packaging. He commented: “If the consultation process is not to be dismissed as a sham then the government must publish the responses promptly.”
Simon Clark, director of Forest, revealed that its Hands Off Our Packs campaign had submitted 53,000 letters and 97,000 petition responses to the consultation before it closed last August.
“It’s incomprehensible that the government would press ahead with legislation without allowing Parliament, the public and other interested parties see the responses,” Clark said. “For the sake of transparency we urge the government to publish that information without further delay.”
