Buying fags is a nightmare at the moment.

[EssieTregowan]

I know, I know. But it is. They're all changing over to the same sludge green packaging.

Which means all the shops are winding down their stock so they never have the cigs I want. None of the staff anywhere know what the new packaged ones are.

The fags I bought yesterday have turned out to be 'crush ball' ones which means if you squeeze the filter they turn menthol. Boak.

It's almost enough to make me quit.

Bugger. That's probably the point.

Whinge whinge whinge. AIBU?

Anybody who has ever developed a smoking addiction knows that plain packaging will make no difference to a smokers' desire to smoke and the pictures of diseases, if they have any effect, will just make smokers feel anxious and twitchy so they reach for a fag.

These measures are not about current smokers though, public health don't give a shit about you, you're a lost cause (unless you're pregnant but then it's all about the baby's health, not yours). These measures are to help prevent children from starting in the first place. I think it will have quite a big impact on that as buying fags will depend on arcane knowledge of what to ask for and how to do it.

It's not to do with smuggling and counterfeits. Australia has had a massive problem with this since they introduced plain packaging. When all the packets look the same they're so much easier to fake. There's a handy guide here for anybody who fancies repackaging unsmokable filth for the UK market.

Anybody who has been sold the wrong fags has the right to return them for refund or replacement under the consumer rights act because they are not as described.

And I echo others, OP, if you enjoy smoking but also want to quit, vaping is great, either as a long term alternative or as a shorter term aid to quitting.

And you'll never get pictures of nasty diseases on alcohol because middle class people drink and you can't upset them.

Ruby is right about smoking in Australia. The rates are very low here.

I'm in Austria at the moment and the difference is amazing. The smoking in some venues is choking and I feel sorry for the people working there. At least I have the choice to leave when I want!

Out of curiosity what is it about cigarettes that is such a pull. Is it the nicotine (and if so how does it make you feel) or more a social thing / habit?

If these measures do put kids off taking up smoking & becoming addicted to a lethal, smelly, disgusting drug, surely that's unquestionably a good thing?

And it is smelly. None of my family or friends smoke, thank fuck, and I'll put up with the stink without comment or reaction if I want to spend time with a smoker but God I hate it.

Anybody who has ever developed a smoking addiction knows that plain packaging will make no difference to a smokers' desire to smoke and the pictures of diseases, if they have any effect, will just make smokers feel anxious and twitchy so they reach for a fag.

And yet it apparently worked in Australia... are they brighter than British smokers?

And you'll never get pictures of nasty diseases on alcohol because middle class people drink and you can't upset them.

What a load of bollocks.

surely that's unquestionably a good thing?

Of course it is Empress. A lot of posters here though are wondering how the plain packs will help current smokers to quit when that was never the primary intention.

Soup - And yet it apparently worked in Australia... are they brighter than British smokers?

1. I can't find any evidence that plain packaging has made much difference in Australia. Smoking prevalence is falling slowly, as it is in pretty much all developed countries. The latest official stats show 13% prevalence of smoking among adults (compared with 19% in the UK) and that prevalence is falling by 0.83% / year since 2010. It's hard to get reliable prevalence over time stats for the whole of the UK but in England, prevalence is falling at around 0.7% / year. So the differences are not as huge as some seem to think. Also, of course, tobacco tax rates have risen much faster in Australia with some further very steep rises planned. If I was going to bet on the measures most responsible for Australia's slightly better smoking stats, I'd go for the £17/packet rather than the unattractive packaging.

2. What has being 'brighter' got to do with anything? Just like the UK, Australia has some fairly massive health inequalities and smoking rates are much higher among poorer people, people with mental health issues, homeless people, prisoners and the Aboriginal population (this has only just dipped to below 40%). Are you suggesting that people in these groups are just less 'bright'? Do you not think it might be a wee bit more complicated than that?

blue Nicotine is highly addictive - you become addicted before you realise...
Starting I think depends on circumstances - it probably is social, feeling grown up, rebelling - does anyone remember 'Death' cigarettes -plain black packaging with a skull on them?

I think you have to be careful trying to discourage young people from starting smoking that you don't actually encourage them...and young people don't start smoking thinking they are still going to be hooked 20 yrs later ...or think they would stop before it got to the stage shown in the pictures...
I started smoking when I was 15-16 - I was in self destruct mode anyway but I think my experience is slightly different to most peoples.
I didn't smoke (and I got A+ on an essay about smoking and health when I was 14 ish - I knew the dangers). A friend had given up (I'd persuaded her ) and asked me to take her cigarettes and matches so she wasn't tempted - the plan was to take them to school to sell them to friends who smoked. But when I got home I had a blazing row with my dad (frequent occurrence) - I stormed out and was walking up and down a country road - trying to calm down ....my brain felt like it was going to explode ...I didn't know what to do, I thought I was going to have a break down or something .... Then I thought cigarettes are supposed to calm you down - I'll try one. I didn't feel sick etc - I felt it hit my brain and I felt instantly calmer, relaxed And that was it.... (Why Allen Carr's book didn't work for me - I got to the having to try to get addicted, get over the feeling sick bit and thought - nope not me!)
Cigarettes don't actually calm (normal) people down - nicotine is a stimulant. Any calming effect is supposed to be due to depriving your brain of oxygen (increase of CO in your blood stream) and also that you have satisfied your craving for nicotine ...you were feeling tense before cos of the craving... even before you were aware of it.
Nicotine is the highly addictive bit - but I can say that when I have tried to stop by going onto roll ups etc I have still been craving bought cigarettes - to the point of looking at butts on the floor and thinking that looks good...so I think there is something else in bought cigarettes that is addictive too.
Also nicotine replacement alone helps with the most addictive part -but then you just get the stimulant effect, not the calming effect (of reduced O2 in your blood) or with the habit.
Also they don't deal with any psychological addiction (I definitely have one - due to the way I started - I 'need' cigarettes to cope with life). And when you have smoked so long you can't imagine not smoking - you are a smoker, it is part of you.
And the habit - is more than putting your hand to your mouth etc -there is the reward aspect. Smoking bans in some ways make this worse. I've never had a job where you can smoke at work -so you get xyz done then you can go for a fag - so you do something - then get your reward... Same with not smoking in the house - wash up and then get a reward, get DCs settled then get a reward and a few minutes peace...
At a stop smoking clinic I was told that 1 in 4 people find it harder to quit than the other 3 - they have a stronger physical addiction. And they don't know why that it. I find that really interesting too.
But like I said - I have now been diagnosed as an adult with ADHD - it is treated with stimulants. Nicotine (and caffeine - and I have a coffee habit too) have both been trialled as treatments - found not as effective as other medication but still have an effect. Apparently lots of people with ADHD are smokers, it is a way of self medicating. And also goes a long way in explaining why my first cigarette had such a huge effect on me. Actually just thinking about this - the first time I took ritalin was a bit frightening - my brain went quiet...everything was silent -but also I felt really calm -the same kind of calm as when I had my first cigarette....

Another one coming on to extol the virtues of vaping.
Healthier
Cheaper
No nasty stinks
Tastes nicer

I've been off the fags for nearly a year now because of vaping and can exercise etc without wheezing and get far fewer colds than I did before (which is amazing, given I'm a primary school teacher!)

I'm just thankful that smoking didn't occur to me a few years ago when I was depressed & self-harming. If it had I'd probably have seized on it as a great way to fuck myself over and it would have had a much longer lasting effect than the stuff I was doing.

An opportunity to quit I hope. Not a nightmare when compared to a disease brought on by smoking.