In a worldwide "first", Australia passed a Tobacco Plain Packaging Bill on 21 November that limits the colour and branding on tobacco packages and also increases the size of graphic health warnings. The new law will take effect in December 2012.
The International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) applauds Australia's strong political will on behalf of tobacco control, especially in the face of the tobacco industry's mounting legal challenges against the new law. Dr Nils E Billo, Executive Director of The Union, said, "Australia's commitment to public health and tobacco control sets a high standard for all of us as we continue the fight to make people aware that tobacco use kills nearly six million people each year".
The new law aims to ensure that consumers, especially young people, are not seduced into using tobacco products by the bright colours, glamorous imagery and misleading labels such as "light" and "low tar" favoured by the tobacco industry.
All tobacco packages will be the same colour – an olive green tested and found to be the least attractive to consumers. Information regarding the brand will be limited to a standard typeface and size, while the lion's share of space will be given over to graphic health warnings, which have been proven to be a deterrent to new smokers and to encourage current smokers to quit.
Australia's decision highlights the importance of marketing as a battleground between pro- and anti-tobacco forces. The de-glamorisation of tobacco use has been crucial to the success of tobacco control laws around the world.
"Informed lifestyle choices that benefit health can only be made when misleading advertising is challenged. Our success at changing the image of smoking to a great extent will determine how successful we are in eradicating the tobacco epidemic," said Dr Ehsan Latif, Director of the Department of Tobacco Control at The Union.
As the only legal substance that kills more than 15,000 people a day, tobacco is a leading risk factor for the major non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including cardiovascular disease, cancers, chronic lung diseases and diabetes. One in six NCD deaths can be attributed to tobacco use – deaths that might be prevented if measures such as plain tobacco packaging were widely instituted.
Dr Billo pointed out that low- and middle- income countries (LMICs) have been increasingly targeted by the tobacco industry, as tobacco use has declined in higher-income countries. The cost of health care for tobacco-related diseases in these countries is very challenging not only for individuals and families, but also for the public health systems struggling to provide care for them.
The economic impact of tobacco use also extends beyond health care. When much-needed family income is spent on tobacco rather than shelter, food and education, the result feeds an ongoing cycle of poverty and ill-health.
With funding from the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use (BI), The Union works in over 30 LMICs to boost expertise in tobacco control measures and legislation in line with the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO-FCTC). The Union offers technical and legal advice and training in support of legislation that protects populations from the harms of tobacco use. Many of The Union's grantees under BI have successfully passed and introduced smokefree laws, graphic health warnings and increases in taxation, among other measures proven to advance tobacco control.