Cigarette plain packaging: Diane Abbott and Simon Clark

Smokers were "not attracted to the packaging" and there was no evidence that plain packs would reduce rates of young people taking up the habit, said the director of Forest and the Hands Off Our Packs campaign.

Simon Clark was debating with former shadow public health spokeswoman Diane Abbott who said medical organisations backed plain packs as they believed it would cut smoking rates, and she believed doctors over the tobacco industry.

They spoke to Jo Coburn on the Daily Politics, and guest Tim Montgomerie from The Times, after they watched a film on the claims about plain packaging of cigarettes.

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