Press Release: Plain Packaging is gift to counterfeiters, nanny statists and prohibitionists

• Plain packaging will encourage cigarette counterfeiting and smuggling
• Government's position totally disregards individual liberty & smokers’ rights
• Plain packaging is a dangerous step towards complete ban on tobacco

Commenting on the government's announcement that it will move to introduce plain packaging for cigarettes, the Adam Smith Institute's Research Director Sam Bowman said:

"The government is wrong to bring plain packaging back onto the agenda. Plain packaging will make counterfeiters’ jobs much easier, will infantilise adults, and is a dangerous step towards a complete ban on tobacco.

"Since Australia introduced plain packaging, smoking rates have not changed, but the proportion of illicit cigarettes had increased substantially. So-called “illicit whites” now account for more than half of illegal sales and about 7.5% of all sales in Australia. The wide availability of illicit whites, in part due to Australia’s plain packaging rules, means adolescents now likely have greater access to cigarettes than previously—and at lower prices.

"Furthermore, plain packaging is a deeply illiberal policy that infringes our right to Freedom of Speech. It clearly infringes on tobacco firms’ freedom of expression, but the freedom for adults to have free exchanges of ideas with each other. In short, a restriction of my freedom to speak, like plain packaging, also affects my freedom to listen and consider what you have to say.

"Smokers enjoy smoking (and actually overestimate the risk of lung cancer), so if moves to curb smoking are successful they will probably make society less happy overall.

"Perhaps most worryingly, plain packaging would be a major step towards a complete ban on tobacco. Prominent public health lobbyists are now calling for a total ban on cigarettes. Plain packaging is a massive step towards the denormalization of smoking that those prohibitionists crave to make their crazy dreams a reality.

"The government’s announcement today marks a dangerous, illiberal new extension of the nanny state. Nobody who values individual liberty can allow it to be thrown away in the name of ‘public health’."

For further comment or to arrange an interview, contact Kate Andrews, Communications Manager, at kate@adamsmith.org / 07584 778 207.

The Adam Smith Institute is an independent libertarian think tank based in London. It advocates liberal public policies to create a richer, freer world.

Dr Eamonn Butler on BBC News discussing sale of Royal Mail

Director of the Adam Smith Institute, Dr Eamonn Butler, appeared on BBC News to discuss the Royal Mail Sale on 4th April, 2014.

Dr Madsen Pirie's comments on Royal Mail sale featured in the IBTimes

Summary

Dr Madsen Pirie's comments on the sale of Royal Mail were featured in the International Business Times.

Read the article here. 

"The sale of Royal Mail was well handled," said Dr Masden Pirie, president of pro-free market thinktank the Adam Smith Institute (ASI).

"It was the first major privatisation in two decades, and the aim was not to raise the greatest possible sum for the government, but to turn a state-run corporation into a successful and flourishing private business."

When the government set the 330p offer price for Royal Mail shares it was following advice from investment banks Goldman Sachs and UBS.

Since the October 2013 flotation onto the London Stock Exchange, the shares have settled at around 565p – a 71% increase. Some banks have issued research notes putting the target price much higher.

Interestingly, Goldman Sachs analysts – who banking regulations dictate must be separated from the advisory division by a 'Chinese Wall' – put their target price at 610p. UBS analysts opted for a much lower 450p.

"No-one knew what the 'correct' price was for Royal Mail, any more than they did for BT, British Gas and the dozens of others," said ASI's Pirie.

"Since they had not traded in the private sector, or had to attract private investment, no-one knew how they would be valued.

"Government took expert advice knowing that it would be, at best, an estimate."

Pirie noted that the government "covered itself" by retaining a 30% stake in Royal Mail."

Sam Bowman appears on BBC Radio Wales to discuss payday lenders

Summary

The Adam Smith Institute's Research Director, Sam Bowman, appeared on BBC Radio Wales to discuss the benefits of payday loan companies. 

Listen to the debate here. (02:08:25)

Ben Southwood's Comments on housing prices featured in dozens of publications

Summary

The Adam Smith Institute's Head of Policy, Ben Southwood, was featured in dozens of publications, including the Independent, on housing prices in the UK.

"Ben Southwood, head of policy for think tank the Adam Smith Institute, said rising house prices reflect "a dysfunctional planning system that doesn't provide the housing people want, where people want it."

Ben Southwood Writes for City AM

Summary

The Adam Smith Institute's Head of Policy, Ben Southwood, argues that there is reason to doubt UK housing will be involved in a future financial crisis. 

Read the full article here.

"On one level, it is impossible to predict which sectors will be connected to future financial crises. But I think there is one reason to doubt UK housing will be involved in a future financial crisis: government policy. UK planning regulations are extremely tight. This is why London rents are so high; this is why British houses are the smallest in Europe; this is why getting planning permission makes a plot of land many multiples more valuable. Simply put, too few houses are built because builders are not allowed to build them. On top of that, the government has introduced Help to Buy, which appears to be driving house prices up rapidly with little boost to supply. Altogether, this suggests house prices are very unlikely to fall enough to generate a financial crisis like we saw in 2007-08. And if they looked like doing so, the government would be likely to stop them. Ben Southwood is head of macro policy at the Adam Smith Institute."

The Entrepreneur's Network is featured in The Telegraph

Summary

The Telegraph profiles TEN as a start-up think tank aimed at pursuing the entrepreneur's agenda.

Read the article here. 

"...The Entrepreneurs Network (TEN), which is supported by the Adam Smith Institute, calls itself “a new think tank devoted to backing Britain’s entrepreneurs”.

TEN says it’s “filling a noticeable gap in the market"

ASI comments on Royal Mail sale featured in the Huffington Post

Summary

Comments from the Adam Smith Institute's President, Dr Madsen Pirie, was featured in the Huffington Post regarding the privatisation of Royal Mail services. 

Read the article here. 

"Others defended the government's handling of the Royal Mail sale. Dr Madsen Pirie, president of the free market think-tank the Adam Smith Institute, said: "It was the first major privatization in two decades, and the aim was not to raise the greatest possible sum for the government, but to turn a state-run corporation into a successful and flourishing private business. 

"The pricing was cautious, as it was in the earlier privatizations, because government wanted a successful launch into the private sector more than it wanted the highest possible price." 

Comment: The sale of Royal Mail was well handled

Commenting on the sale of Royal Mail, the President of the Adam Smith Institute, Dr Madsen Pirie, said:

"The sale of Royal Mail was well handled.

"It was the first major privatization in two decades, and the aim was not to raise the greatest possible sum for the government, but to turn a state-run corporation into a successful and flourishing private business.  

"No-one knew what the "correct" price was for Royal Mail, any more than they did for BT, British Gas and the dozens of others.  Since they had not traded in the private sector, or had to attract private investment, no-one knew how they would be valued.  Government took expert advice knowing that it would be, at best, an estimate.  It covered itself by retaining a proportion of the shares so it could gain later from any increase in value.  In the case of Royal Mail it has retained 30% for later sale at a higher price.

"The pricing was cautious, as it was in the earlier privatizations, because government wanted a successful launch into the private sector more than it wanted the highest possible price.  

"We now have a successful private company holding its own in a competitive market, a company that has become one of the UK's leaders, and one whose future prospects look good.  This was a successful sale, and those who carp about not gaining the maximum possible price simply do not understand what privatization is all about.  It isn't about selling off stuff for the top price; it's about building up companies that can thrive by providing goods and services in a dynamic competitive market."

For further comments or to arrange an interview, contact Kate Andrews, Communications Manager, at kate@adamsmith.org / 07584 778 207.

The Adam Smith Institute is an independent libertarian think tank based in London. It advocates liberal public policies to create a richer, freer world.

Adam Smith Institute report: Plain packaging has failed in Australia and will fail in Britain

Plain packaging has failed in Australia and will fail in Britain, says report:

• Plain packaging for cigarettes does not appear to have reduced smoking rates in Australia, the only country to have tried plain packaging so far.
• Illicit cigarette sales are way up, particularly "illicit whites" which are not legally sold anywhere in the world.
• The proliferation of "illicit whites" has made cigarettes even more accessible to young people than before.
• The report comes ahead of the government's plain packaging consultation announcement next Monday, March 31st. 

Plain packaging for cigarettes appears to have failed in the one country to have implemented it, Australia, a new report by the Adam Smith Institute and Reason Foundation has found. The report comes ahead of the government's plain packaging consultation announcement next Monday, March 31st. 

The report, "Smoking, Plain Packaging and Public Health" (http://www.adamsmith.org/sites/default/files/research/files/ASIsmokingplainpackagingWEB.pdf), looks at surveys of smokers in Australia which show that, although plain packaging may have led to stronger intentions to quit, many reported engaging in defensive behaviors such as covering up health warnings and even smoking more. In the year to July 2013 the proportion of smokers had not declined.

Another study, which looked at discarded packs, found that consumption of cigarettes in the year to July 2013 remained at the same level as in 2012, but found that the proportion of illicit cigarettes had increased substantially. This was corroborated by the most recent Annual Report of Australia’s Customs and Border Protection Service, which shows that the number of illicit cigarettes entering Australia has indeed risen dramatically in the past three years.

The discarded pack study concluded that contraband—much of which is in the form of finished cigarettes that are not legally sold anywhere in the world, known as “illicit whites”—now accounts for more than half of illegal sales and about 7.5% of all sales in Australia. 

The wide availability of illicit whites, in part due to Australia’s plain packaging rules, means adolescents now likely have greater access to cigarettes than previously—and at lower prices. Moreover, these illicit whites have no health warnings. On this basis, it seems reasonable to conclude that plain packaging has been at best useless and at worst counterproductive.

The author of the study, Julian Morris, Vice President of Research at Reason Foundation, notes that “On the basis of what we currently know, it appears that Australia’s experiment with plain packaging has failed to reduce rates of smoking among any of the target groups. Worse, it may have made smoking more attractive to the youth. Until we understand better the impact of plain packaging in Australia, it would be misguided to move forward with similar restrictions in Britain.”

For further comments or to arrange an interview, contact Kate Andrews, Communications Manager, at kate@adamsmith.org / 07584 778 207.

The Adam Smith Institute is an independent libertarian think tank based in London. It advocates liberal public policies to create a richer, freer world.