Smokers lose in health warnings back down

Tobacco companies are the big winners and health and consumer 
rights the big losers in the Federal Government's decision to 
downsize and delay new cigarette packet health warnings.

The government announced that it will ignore the advice of health 
authorities and accept the tobacco industry's favoured position 
that the new graphic warnings should occupy only 30 percent of 
the front of packets — not 50 percent as proposed by health 
experts.

After six years of consultation, the warnings will be delayed a 
further 18 months until 2006 — rather than mid-2005 as 
originally announced.

Says Anne Jones, Chief Executive of ASH (Action on Smoking and 
Health) Australia: "This is a huge disappointment, after all the 
advice the government has received from its top health advisers, 
and the latest research showing the wide range of tobacco's 
diseases most of the public are not aware of.

"It's alarming to see the government going so far to accommodate 
the tobacco companies, who have been very noisy and aggressive in 
their opposition to new improved cigarette packet health warnings 
that would help to better inform smokers about these dangers.

"Research from overseas has showed how effective these messages 
can be in changing smokers' attitudes.

"Every 12 months another 40,000 Australian children take up 
smoking — children who might have been deterred by larger and 
stronger warnings. So public health is the big loser — so is the 
truth. These companies have whinged to the government long and 
hard, not about the health harm, but about the economic harm they 
face from having to tell their consumers the whole truth."