Australia cigarette plain packaging law upheld by court

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The jist is, all cigarette packages must look the same
and have huge graphic warnings on them.

They seem to think ugly packages will deter smokers...

Do you think so ? I don't.

I don't even think it will deter "new" smokers


Australia's highest court has upheld a new government law on mandatory packaging for cigarettes that removes brand colours and logos from packaging.

BBC News - Australia cigarette plain packaging law upheld by court
  • Profile picture of the author whateverpedia
    This will sweep across the world now. The UK, India and New Zealand have been watching this case very closely with a view to doing the same thing.

    After that I can see the rest of Europe and Canada following suit as well.
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    • Profile picture of the author kenmichaels
      Originally Posted by whateverpedia View Post

      This will sweep across the world now. The UK, India and New Zealand have been watching this case very closely with a view to doing the same thing.

      After that I can see the rest of Europe and Canada following suit as well.
      I agree... but do you think it will actually deter smokers ?
      or deter "new" smokers?

      All i see is it hurting the tobacco companies pockets.. not really doing
      anything other then that...

      or am i missing something?
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    • Profile picture of the author hardraysnight
      Originally Posted by whateverpedia View Post

      This will sweep across the world now. The UK, India and New Zealand have been watching this case very closely with a view to doing the same thing.

      After that I can see the rest of Europe and Canada following suit as well.
      Uk, india and UK need to enact identical laws now, to show some solidarity, instead of hiding between fear of the the fascist wto

      c,mon Australia c'mon
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  • Profile picture of the author whateverpedia
    Ken

    I really don't know how it will affect smoking rates.

    As you said, it'll hurt the 'baccy companies. Whether that's by deterring people from smoking or them having to lower their prices and reducing the number of "brands" they have is beyond me.

    Judging by the amount of money/resources they've thrown at the case tends to point in the direction of what the government was hoping to achieve. A lot of health experts say it'll work, so we'll have to wait and see. I'm sure in a years time both parties (gov/baccy) will produce data on the impact.

    No doubt the govt. data will say it works, and the baccy companies will produce data to show it isn't. It's then simply a matter of splitting the difference to see what the impact has really been.
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    • Profile picture of the author Daniel Evans
      I remember when they tried the same kind of ditch effort plans with cannabis, LSD, psilocybin mushrooms and the like - you know those substances that didn't carry taxes and weren't doing much harm anyways.

      Oh wait.......I don't.
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  • Profile picture of the author whateverpedia
    Here's an interesting article on the subject:

    https://theconversation.edu.au/big-t...packaging-8807

    Take note of the "trick" that Phillip Morris Australia/Asia tried to pull.
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    • Profile picture of the author tagiscom
      Hmmmm, it might work!

      I went to a local shopping centre today, and instead of the usual smokers outside, l instead saw a warning on the bitchamen saying, "we do not allow smoking under our parking areas"!

      I am not a smoker, so it was nice not to have to walk through a plume of smoke, to get into a smoke free shopping centre! :rolleyes:

      Maybe they should put on their packaging, "warning, you will spend, most of your time puffing on this stuff, out in the cold and rain, so don't start"!!!

      And PS, you have a good chance of dying horribly in the future!


      Why young people would want to take up this, is beyond me, maybe they enjoy freezing outside, venues, or slowly suffering on a long haul plane flight???? :confused:

      Shane
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  • Profile picture of the author Ernie Lo
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    • Profile picture of the author whateverpedia
      Originally Posted by Ernie Lo View Post

      Now move along and focus on one of the other more pressing issues on society instead.
      Such as the cataclismic "event" you warned us was going to happen during the Olympics?

      BTW - I'm a smoker and I fully support this move.
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      • Profile picture of the author Ernie Lo
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        • Profile picture of the author whateverpedia
          Originally Posted by Ernie Lo View Post

          As a smoker you should know that it will have zero effect. So not sure why you support this.
          As I mentioned earlier on, the tobacco companies believe it will have an impact, hence the amount of money/resources they've thrown at the case.

          They wouldn't have done so if it wasn't going to have an impact.

          I smoke because I'm addicted to them, not because I enjoy it. Admittedly I do smoke less these days thanks to smoking being banned in pubs/clubs/restaurants and most other public places.

          Perhaps I'm looking for an excuse to give up, and maybe this will do it for me. Maybe, maybe not.

          As for it stopping others, once again maybe, maybe not.

          Remember, the authorities (both government and health professionals) have been at war with tobacco for over 40 years. Bit by bit, they are gradually winning.
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          • Profile picture of the author Ernie Lo
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            • Profile picture of the author whateverpedia
              Originally Posted by Ernie Lo View Post

              PS: Have you tried E-cigs before? They may be worth trying out. Halo G6 is a good smaller sized model.
              Haven't tried them yet, but will check them out. Thanks for the tip.
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              • Profile picture of the author kenmichaels
                Originally Posted by whateverpedia View Post

                Haven't tried them yet, but will check them out. Thanks for the tip.
                I did, i bought 3 diffrent ones, for less then $50 ... all three sucked,
                for one reason or another.


                My wife bought one for 200 something....

                now that one provides positive results... she has gone days with out "smoking"

                but, its still 4 months later... and she has NOT stopped smoking altogether.
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                • Profile picture of the author tagiscom
                  Yeah, l went on a holiday and smoked a few of my friends ones. After l started to feel that l was becoming addicted to them l stopped, too scary to continue.

                  I do like a cigar on rare occasions, but with the AU, laws in place l pretty much have to go outside somewhere, not much fun, especially if it is cold, etc.

                  Shane
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  • Profile picture of the author Chris Worner
    The nannies strike again.

    While I couldn't care less about the tobacco companies, the precedent this case has set bothers me somewhat. Australia being the nanny state it is, I wonder how long it will be before the government attempts this on other industries.

    -Chris
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    • Profile picture of the author whateverpedia
      Originally Posted by Chris Worner View Post

      The nannies strike again.
      How?

      Ciggies haven't been banned from sale to adults, so where does the "nanny state" come into it in this case?

      I repeat (from above), I'm a smoker and fully support the decision. I can still buy ciggies so how am I being "nannied"?

      In your own words please, not Andrew Bolt's.
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    • Profile picture of the author hardraysnight
      Originally Posted by Chris Worner View Post

      The nannies strike again.

      While I couldn't care less about the tobacco companies, the precedent this case has set bothers me somewhat. Australia being the nanny state it is, I wonder how long it will be before the government attempts this on other industries.

      -Chris
      so emigrate - to china, you seem to know a lot about it
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  • Profile picture of the author kenmichaels
    i smoke, i quit, i smoke i quit, i don't know if i am addicted or not.
    i have gone months with out smoking, or even "nicking".

    but i eventually always wind up smoking again....

    Of course when i was growing up, there were billboards and magazine ads that
    said smoking was good for you, made you stand out, made you cool and sexy.

    truth is, as far as a i can tell, none of those ads mattered to me...

    I smoke, because a girl i liked smoked, and i wanted her to like me...
    so i stole cigg butts from may parents ash tray, and later packs .

    and some where between faking i smoked and high school... i became a real
    died in the wool smoker with a pack a day habit.

    that is is over 30 years ago.

    I say i want to quit, i have quit, and i do quit. It just never sticks, im not sure
    if i am just a *ussy with no self control, or i am an addicted fool who cant grasp
    reality.

    maybe i am a bit of both.

    what i do know. is packaging means nothing to me, at all.

    i do not in any way care about it... the brand matters, only because i have 3 brands that
    i am familiar with and i know will " fill my need, as far as *** taste *** goes "

    I know that smoking is stupid, i know that smoking "probably killed my father"
    i know that there are @ least 1000 good reasons not to smoke.

    but the "packedge" has never once entered the equation.

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------


    tell people this is the only chance ( life ) they get, there is no other
    ( reincarnation or other beliefs )

    then cut off there pinky toe with no antiseptic or pain medication and say
    ( yeah.... that's like an Indian burn compared to cancer )

    that MAY, possibly , but not probably... help people too NEVER pick up a ciggarette
    no matter how sexy / hot / yummy / he / she / is

    just my thoughts on it.
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  • Gee - what ever happened to bubblegum cigars, and candie ciggies...:rolleyes:

    Hardcore smokers will probably just start identifying with the pics...

    "A carton of 'mouth cancer' please, and one of 'blindness'...say, how are those new 'throat cancer' menthols?"
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
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    Originally Posted by kenmichaels View Post

    They seem to think ugly packages will deter smokers...
    To my considerable surprise, there's a lot of statistical evidence from many other countries that they do. And the extent to which some people give up correlates very closely with what proportion of them are ugly and how ugly they are. It's one of those things which you'd think probably wouldn't be true, but it actually seems to be.

    There are a couple of decades'-worth of statistics now, I think, from some countries, and they all seem to say the same things. (Which is, of course, why other countries are increasingly duplicating these policies, now that it's been internationally proven that they work).

    Originally Posted by kenmichaels View Post

    what i do know. is packaging means nothing to me, at all.
    I hear you. I imagine that it wouldn't, to me, either.

    But policies are formed on the basis of many years' statistics monitored per hundred thousand people, of course, rather than on anecdotal evidence and opinion. Perhaps wisely(?), the professional healthcare statisticians who are employed to advise governments on these matters don't take much notice of you or me.
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  • Profile picture of the author laurencewins
    I have a friend who smoked for about 40 years and now smokes the ecigs instead and thinks they are great. They are cheaper, healthier because you don't get all the crap that you have in real cigarettes and are longer lasting so you don't have to go and buy more every day. I am proud of him for doing it. The damage has obviously been done but at least he is changing a very bad habit.
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    Writer/Editor/Proofreader.

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