The UK government is proposing the inclusion of a new insert within cigarette packaging to encourage smokers to quit (BBC). This initiative, aimed at reducing the smoking rate from 13% to 5% by 2030, follows similar schemes in Canada and Israel.

We surveyed a national representative panel of 2,019 British adults at Find Out Now to gauge their opinions on the effectiveness of these inserts in curbing smoking, as well as their views on whether the government has gone too far in its efforts to reduce smoking.

To what extent do you agree that this new measure will be successful in reducing smoking?

Response	Percentage
Very effective	2.4%
Somewhat effective	14.2%
Not very effective	31.1%
Not at all effective	28.9%
I don’t know	18%
Prefer not to say	5.4%

In your view, do you think the government will be going too far in their efforts to curb smoking, not far enough, or about right?

Response	Percentage
Too far	12.5%
About right	21.2%
Not far enough	48.3%
Prefer not to say	17.9%

Key Points

There is a plurality for more proactive measures to reduce smoking in Britain. The poll suggests that objections often raised about the ‘nanny state’ are overstated, as 48.3% of respondents support further action, compared with only 12.5% believing the government’s measures are excessive.

Around 60% of respondents expressed doubt about the inserts’ effectiveness, opting for responses such as ‘not very’ or ‘not at all’ effective. If our polling is accurate, the Government will need to intensify its efforts to achieve the target of reducing smoking rates to 5%.

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Photo by Andres Simon on Unsplash