Quit, Cancer Council welcome tobacco win

15 Aug 2012, 3:23 pm   -   Source: AAP

Quit and the Cancer Council Victoria have welcomed the High Court's decision that the federal government's plain packaging laws are constitutionally valid.

Australia is a step closer to a smoke-free generation after the High Court rejected the tobacco industry's challenge to plain packaging laws, Quit Victoria says.

The court ruled on Wednesday that the federal government's world-first plain packaging laws are constitutionally valid.

The legal victory means all cigarettes and tobacco products will have to be sold in drab olive-brown packs from December.

Quit Victoria policy manager Kylie Lindorff says the judgment removes the tobacco industry's last remaining advertising stronghold.

"Big tobacco knows this crucial public health reform will work, which is why they've thrown a lot of money and resources into fighting it," Ms Lindorff said in a statement.

"This world-first reform means the next generation of Australians will never be exposed to or deceived by tobacco advertising."

Cancer Council Victoria CEO Todd Harper said the landmark ruling would give confidence to other governments considering plain packaging, including the United Kingdom and New Zealand.

The Australian Council on Smoking and Health said the decision would have global ramifications.

Its president Mike Daube, who chaired the government's expert committee that recommended plain packaging, said global tobacco companies opposed plain packaging ferociously because they knew other countries would follow Australia's lead.

"We know from the companies' own internal documents that packaging is a crucial part of their marketing," Professor Daube said in a statement.

"They have now lost their last means of promoting smoking to adults and children.

"This truly is a life-saving victory for public health."

Public Health Association of Australia chief executive Michael Moore said the community should take heart that the massive resources of a global industry could not buy government policy or High Court decisions.

However, the Smokers' Rights Party warned the decision would lead to worse health outcomes and increased revenue for organised crime.

Convenor Clinton Mead said brand recognition gave legal cigarette companies incentive to produce less harmful cigarettes.

Without it, cigarette companies would increasingly compete on price, leading to cheaper and lower quality cigarettes, he said.

The lack of branding could also provide an incentive for people to buy unregulated illegal tobacco products, which could do more harm and subsidise organised crime, Mr Mead said.

Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre oncologist and lung cancer researcher Associate Professor Ben Solomon said the decision was a boost for cancer prevention in Australia.

"Tobacco smoking is responsible for about 90 per cent of lung cancers in males and 65 per cent in females in Australia," he said.

"Through reducing smoking incidence, this legislation will save lives by preventing tobacco-related deaths from cancer and other lung diseases.

"Most significantly, the introduction of plain packaging of cigarettes will reduce uptake of smoking by young Australians.

"We hope that this approach, pioneered in Australia, will now be followed around the world."

Smoking is the single largest preventable cause of death in Australia, according to Peter MacCallum.

More than 15,000 Australians die of tobacco-related cancer and other lung diseases every year.

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