Australia recognised as leader on World No Tobacco Day
Australia’s leading role in including health warnings on cigarette packaging will be recognised internationally by the World Health Organisation tomorrow.
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31 May 2009
Australia’s leading role in including health warnings on cigarette packaging will be recognised internationally by the World Health Organisation tomorrow.
The Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing is set to receive the WHO’s World No Tobacco Day 2009 Award, acknowledging Australia’s efforts in consistently developing stronger and more effective health warnings.
Many of Australia’s pioneering efforts in tobacco packaging have now been adopted by other countries such as New Zealand, Canada and Singapore.
When it comes to the serious consequences of smoking, a picture really is worth a thousand words. There is nothing glamorous about lung cancer or cancer of the mouth and nothing sophisticated about gangrene or a stroke.
A recent report found that among those who had quit smoking, more than half nominated the graphic health warnings as a factor which prompted them to quit.
(Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the Graphic Health Warnings on Tobacco Product Packaging 2008)
The report found that graphic health warnings in Australia increased consumer knowledge about the negative health effects of smoking, help encourage people to quit smoking, and discouraged smoking uptake or relapse.
World No Tobacco Day on Sunday is another reminder that smokers should make every effort to give up, or risk serious health problems including cancer, heart disease and other chronic conditions.
The AIHW 2007 National Household Drug Survey found that 16.6 per cent of Australians aged over 14 years old reported daily smoking.
Despite falling smoking rates, nearly 2.9 million Australians continue to smoke on a daily basis and around 15,000 die each year from tobacco related illnesses and disease.
The National Preventative Health Taskforce has targeted tobacco as a priority, and its forthcoming report will assist the Australian Government to reduce smoking rates.
CONTACT: Minister’s office 02 6277 7220
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