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Aviation should get cigarette-style health warnings

05 April 2007

The Government should introduce cigarette-style health warnings on all advertising for air travel, holidays that include flights, and at airports, according to new research to be published by the Institute for Public Policy Research (ippr).

Ahead of the Easter weekend get-away ippr argues that providing consumers with highly visible information about the impacts their flying has on the environment will make people think more about the implications of their travel. The report says it would work in a similar way to health warnings on cigarette packs which help to encourage people to give up smoking. The report recommends:

• Large and clearly visible warnings such as Flying Causes Climate Change.
• Estimates of average emissions from the flight in question alongside the average individual’s emissions from energy use, to put the flight in context. For example: The average individual in the UK emits 4400 kilograms of CO2 per year. A return flight from London to Perth, Australia, on average emits 4500 kilograms of CO2 per person.
• For domestic and short-haul flights a comparison of emissions for the same journey if using alternative forms of transport such as rail or coach. For example: A return flight from London to Newcastle on average emits 120 kilograms of CO2 per person while the same journey by train emits 39 kilograms of CO2 per person.

Simon Retallack, ippr Head of Climate Change, said:

“The evidence that aviation damages the atmosphere is just as clear as the evidence that smoking kills. We know that smokers notice health warnings on cigarettes, and we have to tackle our addiction to flying in the same way. But if we are to change people’s behaviour, warnings must be accompanied by offering people alternatives to short-haul flights and by steps to make the cost of flying better reflect its impact on the environment.”

The report also recommends that:

• Carbon offsetting of flights should be the default option, with passengers being required to opt-out rather than having to opt-in.
• Aviation taxation should be changed to reflect the true environmental cost of emissions.
• Increases in aviation taxation should be matched with improvements to rail transport to make it a viable alternative to domestic and European flights.
• The UK should work with other EU member states to better integrate the fragmented European rail network.
• All new cars should be required to carry emissions labelling in showroom displays and in advertising.
• All car advertising should carry bold and visible warnings about the contribution of driving to climate change.

Notes to editors:

Positive Energy: Harnessing people power to prevent climate change, by Simon Retallack and Tim Lawrence with Matthew Lockwood, will be published in April. It sets out a series of recommendations on how to stimulate climate-friendly behaviour through changes in domestic energy use and transport choices.

The CO2 figures for each example plane journey given are taken from Climate Care’s Carbon Calculator http://www.climatecare.org/media/documents/pdf/Aviation

Journey / CO2 kilograms per person (kgpp) flying / CO2 kgpp by train
London to Newcastle / 120 / 39
London to Paris / 110 / 27
London to Edinburgh / 140 / 43
London to Madrid / 290/ 101

Climate Care calculates that a return flight to Perth, Australia emits 4500 kilograms of CO2 per person, which is more than the 4400 kilograms of CO2 an average individual in the UK emits in an entire year.

The number of passengers flying abroad from the UK rose by about 65 per cent between 1994 and 2004, and the number flying within the UK rose by about 70 per cent over the same period. More than 70 per cent of passengers flying from UK airports are UK citizens.

Almost 90 per cent of flights are for holidays and visiting friends. The number of people choosing to take their holidays abroad increased by 48 per cent between 1995 and 2003, while the number choosing to take holidays within the UK fell by almost three per cent.

Just 1-5 per cent of respondents to a poll by the Central Office of Information said they offset their emissions from flying.

Offsetting companies estimate that in 2005, 34,000 tonnes of CO2 was offset by UK customers, representing less than 0.5 per cent of the UK emissions from aviation.

Because of other effects (from water vapour, ozone reactions and contrails) each tonne of CO2 emitted from aviation has an enhanced warming effect on the climate compared with emissions from land-based sources.

The Department for Transport estimates that domestic aviation and international departures together account for 5.5 per cent of the UK’s CO2 emissions, but this rises to the equivalent of 11 per cent if this enhanced warming effect is included.

According to the Environmental Change Institute at Oxford University, business as usual scenarios show emissions from aviation growing to between four and ten times their 1990 levels by 2050.

The Government has proposed establishing a voluntary Code of Best Practice for carbon offsetting to UK customers. It would be based on the use of certified credits from the established Kyoto market, through sources such as the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). These credits are backed by an international framework and institutions to ensure that real emission reductions take place, as well as providing a clear audit trail. However, as the code is voluntary, there is no certainty that companies will adopt it, and on its own, it is unlikely to lead to a significant increase in offsetting.

In July 2005 the Government introduced a colour-coded labelling scheme for new cars, on a voluntary basis. The label displays the Vehicle Excise Duty band and running costs of the vehicle, and identifies its environmental and economic performance. The label takes on a similar A-G rating form and style to the domestic appliance labels and the forthcoming energy performance certificate in homes. The voluntary nature of the scheme means that many showrooms do not display the car label on vehicles.

Heath warnings on cigarette packets and other tobacco products were first introduced in Europe in 1992. Following research showing a relationship between the size of the warnings and the impact on smokers, they were increased in size. For example, by 1994 33 per cent of all surfaces of cigarette packs in Canada had to contain a health warning. Most European countries have followed suit, including the UK in 2003.

According to the Department of Health, large written warnings have prompted more smokers to attempt to quit than previous smaller warnings. Evidence from the UK indicates that the introduction of the current written warnings in 2003 increased their salience to smokers. The percentage of smokers who noticed warning labels ‘often’ or ‘very often’ increased from 42 per cent in 2002 to 81 per cent in 2003.

Research in the Netherlands on the introduction of large warnings in 2001 found that:

• Around 90 per cent of smokers and 70 per cent of non-smokers recognised a change to health warnings on cigarette packs just weeks after introduction.
• 13 per cent of smokers indicated that they were less inclined to purchase cigarettes as a result of the new warnings.
• Within weeks of introduction 71 per cent of smokers had claimed to have discussed the warnings and this level of interest was proved not to have waned after four months.
• 26 per cent of smokers who ‘intended to stop at some stage’ felt that the warnings increased their motivation to quit.
• 8.6 per cent of smokers said they were smoking less as a result of the warnings. Only 0.7 per cent said they were smoking more.

According to Action on Smoking and Health: ‘Research has shown that the larger a health warning is, the more impact it has on persuading a smoker to give up: labels that occupy 30 per cent or more of each of the largest sides on the cigarette pack have been found to be strongly linked with smokers’ decisions to quit or to cut down their smoking. In addition, health warnings can have a cumulative effect – older smokers have reported that they start to become afraid of the warnings after seeing them on cigarette packets every day.’

Contact:

Matt Jackson, ippr senior media officer, 020 7339 0007 / 07753 719289 / m.jackson@ippr.org

 

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