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Home > Ministers > The Hon Nicola Roxon MP - Minister for Health and Ageing > Media Hub > Interview with Paul Murray – 2UE Sydney - Topics: Plain Packaging of Tobacco

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PDF printable version of Interview with Paul Murray – 2UE Sydney - Topics: Plain Packaging of Tobacco (PDF 25 KB)

E & OE – PROOF ONLY

Topics: Plain Packaging of Tobacco

Paul Murray: In the meantime though there is quite a debate about plain packaging and cigarettes. Now you have heard ads rolling around here for a long time, and I don't care who buys ads, they don't change my opinion, saying that obviously plain packaging is a stupid idea and it's as bad as the alcopops tax and all that rubbish; all of that is quite ignorable. The reason why I have a problem with it is only because I don't think that you're going to persuade anyone who was going to think about smoking to stop smoking.

I think that if people are wanting to smoke they will always find a way to do it and I also have some grave concerns that the more we make this a taboo product the more, to be honest, it's going to be exciting to younger people.

Anyway, the Health Minister is Nicola Roxon, she joins us now from Melbourne where, of course, you're very proud about what is this world first achievement. Good afternoon, Minister.

Nicola Roxon: Good afternoon.

Paul Murray: Now put simply, this is a new step; why this step in making sure that people can no longer get - it makes smoking even less attractive.

Nicola Roxon: Well this is the last remaining way that tobacco companies in Australia can promote their products. They spend a lot of money making sure that they use gold embossing or special colours to make their cigarettes look luxurious or imply that they might be light or those sorts of things. We restrict all other sorts of promotion of tobacco because we know it is an addictive product and we know it's a killer product.

So this is just taking away the last method of trying to hook people into what is a very dangerous and very addictive product.

Paul Murray: I think that's a very persuasive point, I think it's a true point, but isn't it also making the case for the actual complete banning of cigarettes.

Nicola Roxon: Well, I think if you, you know, were we starting the world again and working out what was lawful and what was unlawful and you knew what we now know about tobacco it wouldn't be a legal product. But we have to be realistic that that's not the history, that we have a lot of people that are addicted to tobacco.

They should be helped to break their habit. But I tell you one thing, I have never met a smoker who wants their child or hopes that their child will be a smoker.

So part of taking this particular step is to do what we can to stop new smokers, new people being introduced to tobacco, to make it less attractive, take away any glamour that people think might be there, and that's why we're taking this step.

It's a world first, it's ambitious, but we think it can really make a difference to make tobacco even less attractive to people who might be thinking about becoming smokers.

Paul Murray: I suppose my issue is because we are dealing with something that is going to kill you why don't we just announce, okay, in 10 years' time we're going to ban smoking and we will reduce every year by 10 per cent the amount of cigarettes in the market, and every cent that we raise through the considerable taxes that come with this we will put into paying for patches; so everyone knows they've got 10 years to get off it.

I mean, if we're going - if it's going to kill that many people why not make the ultimate bold step?

Nicola Roxon: Well I mean, I think that consumers and media personalities and advocates can press those cases and we certainly get young people, primary school kids and secondary school kids writing to us saying this is too dangerous and I wish my dad would stop smoking and can't we make it illegal.

The Government is doing everything we can to restrict the way tobacco companies market their product. We haven't made a decision to take that next step which would be a very, very bold one, but we think that this step is one that will dramatically, or have the ability to dramatically reduce the number of people that smoke and therefore reduce the harm, and maybe sometime in the future or some health minister in the future, because of the step we take today, will be able to take those steps further down the track.

But it's not something that we are currently trying to do. This is a big world first that we have set our sights on as the step we're determined to take.

Paul Murray: Is a big thing about smoking that when you're young and you decide to take it up it's not about glamour, it's about rebellion in many cases because you believe you're never going to be the one that's going to get sick; you believe that you can drive at 140 Ks an hour because you're the one that won't get hurt.

Now the older you get and the smarter you get you understand, well sorry, you know, either way you're not going to dodge cancer. Isn't the reality though is that if firstly it's a taboo product and your parents don't want you to smoke it, well that's even greater reason to think about trying it. Then you've got the Government putting the warnings on and saying, well okay, look what I'm doing, I'm putting something in my mouth that might cause blindness.

Then you, in New South Wales, put them inside a cabinet and then you turn around and change the packets. In many ways aren't you also sort of heightening the taboo nature of cigarettes and thus, to some, actually increasing their attractiveness?

Nicola Roxon: Yeah, well I agree with your introduction that it's going into some of the psychology of it; what actually the restrictions over the last couple of decades have shown us is it may have that impact for some people but actually the restrictions have been very successful in dramatically reducing the smoking rate in Australia. We think that these restrictions will further reduce the smoking rate.

Whilst that won't mean that we'll have no people smoking, it might significantly decrease the number of people, 15,000 every year that die from smoking related illnesses. So, you know, it's always going to be a balance. This is not a measure that means every single person will stop smoking tomorrow but it might mean that there are thousands of families who won't be grieving because a loved one has died because they became addicted to tobacco and then, you know, contracted cancer or other diseases that ultimately can kill you.

Paul Murray: All right, Minister, thanks for the chat and all the best with it.

Nicola Roxon: Thank you.

Paul Murray: Nicola Roxon is the Health Minister. What do you think, 13 13 32; look, there is no doubt, there is no doubt in the world that if you smoke you're stupid because you know what you're doing to yourself. I have to declare in this, I don't smoke cigarettes, I smoke cigars, and it's every now and then. But still, I know what I'm doing and I know that it's the dumbest thing in the world to do.

That's my choice, it's my mistake, and I know that there are issues later in life about the public health system and all the rest. But my issue is this; the Government can't have it both ways. They can't say that it's the most evil, lethal thing that will kill everyone who touches it, but not ban it. That would be akin to turning around and knowing that there is lead in paint but all we have to do is make people pay more for paint, make the lead paint harder to get.

You see, it doesn't work like that. What do you think; 13 13 32. Particularly keen to know about that point that I was saying, that for many smokers it's a sort of big middle finger, to your body, to your society and to your parents. If we make it a more taboo product what does that do to that factor. Give us a call, 13 13 32.

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