One of the measures used by anti tobacco campaigners to determine the effectiveness of an innovation, action, legislation or reform is how loudly the tobacco industry “screams”.
If the tobacco industry complains loudly and long and lobbies all the politicians it can find then you know that you are winning. You know that whatever it is the anti-tobacco campaigners or governments have done is going to reduce sales of tobacco.
When the tobacco industry goes one step further and resorts to its legal arsenal, then you know you are really doing something very effective, which will actually reduce smoking rates substantially.
The Rudd government has raised the price of tobacco, which always annoys the tobacco industry. The usual industry counter argument is that this will increase smuggling and illegal tobacco sales. Of course the evidence is to the contrary.
See this article – HERE
Furthermore the tobacco industry itself has had legal action taken against it by governments, for being implicated in tobacco smuggling in several countries, and has recently been fined in Canada. See HERE
The second thing the Rudd government has done is threaten to make tobacco packets less attractive in plain “baby poo” coloured packaging. This has brought out the big guns and the tobacco industry lawyers are brushing up on their options. They will base their argument on loss of trademark.
In an article in the Age, Monash University Professor Mark Davison explains why this argument will not work. Basically trademark law is there to stop anyone using your trademark, but that is it.
HERE
The tobacco industry relies heavily on its packaging to create an image and to sell cigarettes. There is a fascinating article by Professor Melanie Wakefield which delineates some of the wonderful advertising market research done in Australia by a Philip Morris consultant with young Australian women to determine which packs were most attractive to girls. HERE
Getting rid of attractive packaging, raising the price of cigarettes and a new media anti-smoking campaign could reduce smoking rates by 2% or more.
Reducing smoking rates has an effect within a few months of reducing heart attack and stroke admissions to emergency rooms at hospitals.
As 70% of acute admissions to the Royal Hobart hospital are smokers, despite only about 25% of the Tasmanian population being smokers, these measures will almost certainly reduce pressures on emergency rooms. Freeing up hospital beds for all Tasmanians is imperative.
Tasmania is the only State in which the smoking rate is not falling.
The Rudd government has passed the “scream” test. Let us hope that they can continue to see these measures through the Parliament – for the sake of our health system and the people of Tasmania.
