Ban cigarette vending machines

I read with great interest the reply of Jeffrey Darmanin (Price, Not Packet Size, Influences Smokers, January 3) to my letter (Size Of Cigarette Packets, December 14).

The emphasis that I am attempting to make is that whatever measures legislators take in controlling smoking, smokers should be afforded the right to choose the cigarette packets with the content size they desire, preventing them from potentially increasing their intake of cigarettes and spending more than their budget allows.

Moreover, I will add that since time immemorial, humans smoked and unfortunately they will continue to do so despite or in spite of measures to control this deadly habit. It also seems inherent in human nature that the more difficult it is to obtain a certain object, the more inventive and creative are the means employed to possess it and try it. The price of the current cigarette packets is indeed an incentive for smuggling since smuggled cigarettes are sold at a cheaper price. Incidentally the newspaper of the same date of the reply to my letter carried a front page article of the familiarity fraudsters have with equipment used by customs officials.

Another element not to be missed out is that, even if the standard size of 20 cigarettes per pack is maintained with its current prices, it would still be easy for youngsters to smoke, because there are ways and means to buy simple cigarette hand rollers, cigarette paper, tobacco and filters and roll their own cigarettes. This one-time investment makes it much cheaper than the price of cigarette packets of whatever content of cigarettes they may have (20, 10 or less). Hand rolling makes it very easy for young people to bypass any constraint and smoke to their heart's delight.

If governments really want smoking to be effectively controlled they should ban cigarette vending machines because these machines send the message that cigarettes are no more dangerous than sweets. For younger or less confident children, vending machines also provide a less intimidating avenue for purchasing tobacco than over-the-counter sales.

For instance, in 1993 restrictions on vending machines were widely supported in America. According to the American Cancer Society, 73 per cent of voters, including 66 per cent of all smokers, reported that they would favour banning cigarette vending machines because of concern for children.

The whole point is that freedom of choice is a fundamental right that should not be taken away from smokers wishing to pay less to meet their smoking requirement. Ideally, all smoking should be eradicated because it is unhealthy and deadly, but this is still a somewhat distant illusion judging by the amount of active and passive smoking that fills the air. No matter how much education is implemented (which is never enough), the large multinational commercial tobacco conglomerates seem to be having their way still.