Christopher Snowdon Image

Christopher Snowdon

is the Director of Lifestyle Economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA). He is the author of The Art of Suppression, The Spirit Level Delusion and Velvet Glove; Iron Fist.

Recent Articles by Christopher Snowdon

Plain confectionery packaging a heavy-handed response to health concerns

Legislating for tobacco-style plain packages for confectionery is a disproportionate response to the obesity crisis and strips companies of valuable trademarks, writes the Institute of Economic Affairs’ head of lifestyle economics.

‘Plain packaging’ is a policy which eliminates all branding and visual design elements on products and forces manufacturers to use state-mandated colors and typefaces to create homogenized packaging with no differentiating features. Plain packaging is currently only applied to tobacco products in a handful of countries worldwide, but if health activists have their way that will change.