Big Tobacco’s Sick Joke
Minister for Health Tanya Plibersek has said that new packaging produced by Big Tobacco exposed the lengths that they will go to attract people to their deadly products.
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12 September 2012
Minister for Health, Tanya Plibersek, said today that new packaging produced by Big Tobacco exposed the lengths that they will go to attract people to their deadly products.
New packaging from Imperial Tobacco includes partial plain packaging and the line, “It’s what’s on the inside that counts”.
“For a company to have produced packs that contain the line, “It’s what’s on the inside that counts” must surely be the ultimate sick joke from Big Tobacco,” said Ms Plibersek.
“Diseased lungs, hearts and arteries are the reality of what is happening on the inside to a smoker.
“Smoking related diseases kill 15,000 Australians a year and the Government is determined to reduce the pain and suffering caused by this deadly product,” said Ms Plibersek.
Ms Plibersek also warned Big Tobacco not to try any last minute dirty tricks to get around the Government’s new plain packaging laws.
From 1 October 2012 all tobacco products manufactured or packaged for domestic consumption in Australia are required to be in plain packaging and from 1 December 2012 all cigarettes for retail sale in Australia must be in plain packaging.
“We are seeing plain packaged packs hit the stores with major retailers expecting to receive deliveries this week,” said Ms Plibersek.
“However, we will be closely watching the new packages to ensure that they comply with the regulations because we know that Big Tobacco will use every trick in the book to try and get around the new requirements.
“Some of the first packs on the shelves could breach the regulations because they:
- contain a mark that is not permitted under the legislation; and
- do not meet requirements for the appearance of some permitted marks.
“We have also noticed some variation in the colour and gloss on packs, and we will continue to monitor new packs appearing on the market.
“We have referred the packs to the ACCC to ensure that the graphic health warnings comply with the standard and we will continue to do so as issues are identified.
“Where we identify any examples of possible non-compliance before the implementation dates we will be letting the companies know so they can rectify any issues,” said Ms Plibersek.
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