The Australian Government has revealed its plan to help Australians stop smoking. It’s part of a plan to reduce the proportion of daily smokers to 5% or less by 2030.
The proposed reforms include printing warnings on individual cigarettes and mandating a maximum of 20 cigarettes per pack.
The Australian Government’s plan to stop smoking
The Government has proposed several measures to make smoking less desirable.
This includes standardising the number of cigarettes sold in packs to a maximum of 20 cigarettes. There would also be a maximum of 30 grams of tobacco for pouches.
The new proposals also include mandating specific length and width requirements for each cigarette.
Cartons could only contain 10 cigarette packs, and would be priced at the same value of 10 individual packs.
It also proposes putting slips of paper into each packet to empower smokers to quit smoking. These would be small cards with supportive information that would show the benefits of quitting.
Crush balls, which are used to add flavour to cigarettes, would also be banned. These are part of a variety of smoking accessories said to increase uptake among youth.
Messaging warning
It also wants to ban messaging that suggests reduced harm or better quality, such as “ultra-light” or “smooth”.
Messages implying the product is organic or natural would also be scrapped, along with numbers and non-alphabetical characters on packages, like exclamation marks and smiley faces.
Graphic warnings on packaging, which haven’t been updated since 2012, will also be given a revamp.
Next steps
The Australian Government has asked for public and stakeholder feedback on its draft legislation, which will be due by July.
This will influence the final legislation, which is expected to be tabled in Parliament this year.
