2015Mrs Jablonowska

Plain Packaging Cigarette

Since December 2012, a controversial law was enforced by the
government in order for the restriction and control measures of tobacco
packaging, also known as Plain packaging Cigarettes. Plain packaging
cigarettes is the removal of all branding on cigarette packages, permitting
the manufactures with mandated sizes, fonts and colour. In attempt to
reduce and create awareness of the effects of smoking, realistic,
gruesome images of the short and long terms of smoking are to replace all
branding. The Australian government introduced the legislation in 2011
where it came into effect in late 2012. Plain packaging was under the the
Competition and Consumer (Tobacco) Information Standard 2011 which
was only one factor of the legislation.
Features of Plain Cigarette Packaging:

The brand name must appear on the

front of the box in a standard size
and font.
The name of any brand variant must
also appear immediately below the
brand name, also in a standard font.
All remaining surfaces must be in the
colour drab dark brown.
75% of the front of the pack must
show one of 14 prescribed graphic
(pictorial) health warnings. (73)
These 14 warnings are required to be
rotated according to a particular
pattern across the years, so that
each 24 months after the 1 December implementation date, each of
the 14 different warnings will have been evenly distributed across all
tobacco stock. The same graphic warning must also appear on the
back of the pack in smaller size, along with the relevant
accompanying textual warning. The size of the combined graphic
and text warning on the back of the pack is 90% of the surface area.
On the top of the pack (both back and front), the matching textual
warning must appear.
The number of cigarettes in the pack must be shown in the bottom
right-hand front corner.
The Quitline phone number must appear on the back of the pack.
All writing in all the above matters must conform to standard,
specified fonts which is the same for all brands.
The left hand side of the box must show another textual warning.

The box shape, wrap, and colour of all cigarettes must conform to
prescribed standards, the same for all brands.

The Law Relating to the Issue Before Any Change

In 1973, the first health warning on cigarette packages in Australia was
mandated with a simple message on every cigarette package reading
Warning- Smoking is a health hazard.
The Tobacco Products Control Act 2006
Following Canadian footsteps, the Coalition Government announced the
requirements of graphic health warnings on all tobacco packs. This was
announced in 2003, with regulations adopted in July 2004 and fully
implemented from March 2006).
Provisions about:

The sale and supply of tobacco products

Tobacco advertising and promotion
Licensing sellers of tobacco products
Investigations
Enforcement
Smoking in enclosed public spaces

Purpose:
a) To reduce the incidence of illness and death related to the use of
tobacco products:
1. by prohibiting the supply of tobacco products and smoking
implements to young persons;
2. by discouraging the use of tobacco products;
3. by restricting the promotion of tobacco products and smoking
generally;
4. by reducing the exposure of people to tobacco smoke from tobacco
products that are smoked by other people; and
b) To promote good health and activities which encourage healthy
lifestyles

Arguments For and Against the Law

For:

Raises awareness of the impacts of smoking for all ages, especially

young teenagers (Reduces appeal to smoke such as the price
increase)
Gives smokers motivation to quit

By raising awareness of the impacts of smoking using cigarette

packaging, smokers will have a direct impact through the confrontation of
the possible consequence with the continuation of smoking. The graphic
images depicted will mitigate the appeal of cigarettes and ultimately
motivate regular smokers to quit. This could lead to the decline in the
number of smokers presently and in future. Through this, it educates
adults on the importance of quitting, as it can cause severe health risks
and problems in their social life. Not only does it raise awareness for
adults but most importantly, teenagers and young adults who are
planning or already smoking. By educating teenagers of smoking hazards
earlier, this can prevent later generations and most importantly,
themselves. With 2.7 million Australian smokers, this rate is rapidly
inclining so by raising awareness of the health hazards, this can impact
many smokers and non-smokers to help in the effort to reduce smoking
Additionally, plain packaging will motivate smokers to quit smoking with
every packet they purchase. Three in four smokers would like to quit
however as smoking is addictive caused by the nicotine, these images will
remind them to think about the impacts before smoking. By continually
motivating smokers to quit and with 11 impactful images on cigarette
packs hopefully the statistics will repeal to their attraction.
Against:

Tobacco companies will feel the strain of economic issues

Consumers are susceptible to the risk of purchasing off the black
market

Although plain packaging has beneficial implements to society and

Australia however economically it will leave some rough patches in the
economy. During WWII cigarettes were a big part of social interactions

leading to the explosive number of smokers where the overseas tobacco

companies helped sustain the economy. Mars Incorporated and the UK
Department of Health relayed concerns over the impact of plain packaging
could extend to the food and beverage industry. Tobacco company, Phillip
Morris International, also provided a study which showed the shift
consumer preferences away towards cheaper brands effecting many
tobacco companies financially.
Furthermore, consumers may, instead of repealing to the packages, they
can turn towards purchasing cigarettes off the black market which could
contain dangerous chemicals. Stated by the International Chamber of
Commerce Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy group in
2011 commented that Plain packaging makes it easier for packaging to
be copied by counterfeiters, exposing consumers to products of unknown
and potentially dangerous ingredients where the possibility of consumers
appealing to these sellers could produce an increase in various health
risks. With the internet providing easy access to purchasing cigarettes
online, this could become a major concern especially for young adults as
they are more vulnerable to being scammed or purchasing illegal drugs.

The Effectiveness of the Laws Before and After the

Change
Before the change in laws in 2006 were very effective as this was the first
time the plain packaging scheme was introduced not only in Australia but
the world. The percentage of smokers form 2005-2007 declined
tremendously as show in the table below:
Smoker
(total)
Smoker
(males)
Smoker
(female)

2001
24.2%

2004/05
23.3%

2007/08
20.1%

2011/12
17.4%

27.2%

26.2%

22.2%

19.5%

21.2%

20.2%

18.0%

15.3%

The 3% decline in the total amount of smokers imply the effectiveness of

the plain packaging was one of the main reasons for the decline. As many
smokers usually from indigenous backgrounds and poorer areas of
Australia, werent educated on the impacts that smoking had, these
graphic images wouldve been a strong force in stopping the growth of the
smoking trend.
With the implementation of the new legislation in 2012, the effectiveness
has dramatically increased compared to 2006s first trial of plain
packaging cigarettes. Tobacco consumption throughout the country has
plummeted such as from the National Drug Strategy Household Survey
(NDSHS) detailed report 2013 shows that the average number of
cigarettes smoked per week has decreased from 111 cigarettes in 2010 to
96 cigarettes in 2013 which saves up to 780 cigarettes consumed per
year. Furthermore, tobacco clearances fell by 3.4% in 2013 compared to
2012 and fell a further 7.9% supporting the evidence of the effectiveness
of the recent legislation. In total recent figures released by the Australian
Bureau of Statistics (ABS) found that the estimated expenditure fell by

103 million dollars during 2012 to 2014 which was the lowest ever
recorded tobacco consumption in Australia. By adding up these statistics it
is clear the execution of the recent legislation was successful in obtaining
lowered results with the fall in tobacco consumption and expenditure.

Bibliography
Websites:

National Heart Foundation of Australia, 2012, Evidence Paper

Plain Packaging, viewed 8 September 2015,
http://www.heartfoundation.org.au/SiteCollectionDocuments/Evidenc
e-Paper-Plain-Packaging.pdf
The Department of Health, 26 August 2015, Tobacco Key Facts
and Figures, viewed 8 September 2015,
http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/tppbo
ok
9 September 2015, Plain Tobacco Packaging, Wikipedia, viewed
10 September 2015,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plain_tobacco_packaging#Legislation
European Commission and British American Tobacco, 2011, Plain
Packaging, 10 September 2015,
http://www.bat.com/plainpackaging
Action on Smoking and Health Australia, 2015, Plain Packaging of
Tobacco, 10 September 2015,
http://www.ashaust.org.au/lv3/action_plainpack-htm/
Quit, Cancer Council, April 2011, Evidence, 10 September 2015,
http://www.cancervic.org.au/plainfacts/browse.asp?
ContainerID=plainfacts-evidence

Newspaper

Medew J, January 14 2014, Calls to Quitline soar after plain

packaging laws, Sunday Morning Herald, 10 September 2015.
Dunlevy S, 20 December 2014, Plain packaging of cigarettes has
turned smokers off their habit, News, 10 September 2015