AMA President, A/Prof Brian Owler, said today that all Australian governments must continue taking action to encourage people to stop smoking and discourage others, especially young people, from taking up the killer habit.
A/Prof Owler said the AMA has been a strong supporter of major public health initiatives and Federal and State legislation that has made it harder for Big Tobacco to promote its killer products to Australians.
“The ground-breaking tobacco plain packaging laws, which were supported by both sides of politics, put Australia at the forefront internationally in the battle against smoking,” A/Prof Owler said.
“We must build on this momentum to limit tobacco marketing, stop people smoking, and save lives.
“This involves a combination of bold public health initiatives such as plain packaging, taxation, and laws that limit the places where people can smoke in public.
“It is important that people know the facts about the harmful health effects of smoking and the success of anti-smoking initiatives.”
A/Prof Owler said it was disturbing to see misinformation about smoking rates and plain packaging being spread by the tobacco industry in recent days, and even more disturbing to read reports that some Government backbenchers are promoting repeal of the plain packaging legislation.
“Big Tobacco continues to put profits ahead of people’s lives,” A/Prof Owler said.
“The tobacco companies attack plain packaging because it is working, and they do not want other countries following Australia’s lead.
“The AMA urges the Federal Government to resist overtures from the tobacco industry to wind back tobacco reforms, and to maintain successful public health campaigns that educate the public about the damaging health effects of tobacco and smoking.
“Australia has developed a reputation and standing as a world leader in tobacco control. We cannot allow that reputation to be undermined by the dirty tricks of Big Tobacco,” A/Prof Owler said.
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Background
Australian Bureau of Statistics Gross Domestic Product figures for March quarter 2014 show that between the December quarter 2012, when plain packaging laws came into effect, and the March quarter this year, consumer spending on tobacco products fell 5.3 per cent – and is now at the lowest level ($3.298 billion) since records began in 1959.
A Treasury analysis of a 25 per cent hike in the tobacco excise in May 2010 referred to evidence suggesting that around 200,000 smokers quit or attempted to quit smoking immediately following the excise increase – double the number of the previous month, and there were 100,000 fewer daily smokers in 2010.
In evidence to a House of Representatives Committee hearing, British American Tobacco CEO David Crow said that, following the excise increase, there was a 10.2 per cent fall in the volume of sales.
Overall, the Treasury report concludes there was an 11 per cent drop in tobacco sales following the excise increase, and an increase in attempts by smokers to quit. The tobacco industry provided figures indicating that some smokers responded to the excise hike by purchasing cheaper cigarettes and roll-your-owns.
In his report on plain packaging to the UK Government (Standardised packaging of tobacco), Sir Cyril Chantler admitted there were limitations to the evidence about the likely effect of plain packaging on tobacco consumption, and said a randomised controlled trial to test the effect would not be ethical to undertake.
But he said there had been a large number of studies that have tested the possible effect of standardised packaging on the behaviour of smokers and non-smokers (most significantly the 2012 Stirling Review).
Sir Cyril said there was no evidence to support tobacco industry claims that plain packaging would drive tobacco prices down and increase the trade in illicit products.
He said that early evidence from Australia does not show falling prices; rather, price rises have continued over and above tax increases. There is some evidence of trading down towards cheaper brands, but this appears to be a continuation of an ongoing market trend.
“I am not convinced by the tobacco industry’s argument that standardised packaging would increase the illicit market,” Sir Cyril said.
“There is no evidence that standardised packaging is easier to counterfeit, and indeed, in Australia, hardly any counterfeit standardised packages have been found to date.
“Having reviewed the evidence, it is in my view highly likely that standardised packaging would serve to reduce the rate of children taking up smoking, and implausible that it would increase the consumption of tobacco. Branded packaging plays an important role in encouraging young people to smoke.
“I am satisfied that the body of evidence shows that standardised packaging, in conjunction with the current tobacco control regime, is very likely to lead to a modest but important reduction over time on the uptake and prevalence of smoking, and thus have a positive impact on public health.”