Inconvenience: Philip Morris report says plain packaging could cost 30,000 jobs

Thousands of jobs could be lost if plain packaging for cigarettes and tobacco products is introduced, according to a story in the South Wales Evening Post, citing a report released and commissioned by Philip Morris Ltd.

The report suggests up to 30,000 of the 182,300 jobs in Britain’s small, independent retailers are at risk and concludes tobacco purchases will migrate to illegal street vendors, larger stores and purchases from abroad.

Douglas McWilliams, co-author of the report, said, “Convenience stores depend  heavily on tobacco sales and the associated spending by those who drop in to buy cigarettes.

“All the survey evidence and simulation exercises available suggest that plain packaging would cause spending to move to illegal street vendors, larger stores and purchases from abroad. If this is replicated in real life, high streets up and down the country would be dealt a body blow.”