Lifestyle Economics

Plain packaging will boost the black market and is a disaster for the free market


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Commenting on the decision to implement plain packaging in the UK, Christopher Snowdon, Director of Lifestyle Economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs, said:

“The perverse decision to introduce plain packaging is a triumph for gesture politics and a kick in the teeth for evidence-based policy-making. Parliament has set a precedent for wholesale confiscation of intellectual property on the whim of zealous pressure groups. No doubt food and drink will be next.”

To arrange an interview please contact Camilla Goodwin, Communications Officer: 0207 799 8920 or 07821 971 443.

Notes to editors:

The mission of the Institute of Economic Affairs is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social problems.

The IEA is a registered educational charity and independent of all political parties.



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