Press Release

Former Australian Health Minister Shares Experiences on Plain Tobacco Packaging

todaySeptember 27, 2016 19

Background
share close

Toronto, September 27, 2016 – Today Councillor Joe Mihevc hosted a media event with former Australian Health Minister Nicola Roxon and other health partners on the importance of plain and standardized packaging of tobacco products.  The event provided an opportunity to learn from the Australian experience, the first country to adopt plain packaging for tobacco.  Similar approaches are now underway in Canada following the federal government’s announced intention to introduce plain and standardized tobacco packaging shortly.

 “Canadians should reject tobacco industry arguments that plain tobacco packaging will not work,” former Australian Health Minister Nicola Roxon said at a Toronto City Hall news conference today.

Roxon noted the many benefits of the measure to Australian citizens. “Plain packaging has worked in Australia.  The age at which young people start smoking has gone up, there has been no increase in contraband, and there has been a bigger drop in smoking rates than was already underway,” she said.

The tobacco industry uses packaging as a key mechanism to market their products to new and current smokers. Evidence has shown that the branding strategies employed by the industry are particularly effective when marketing to women and youth.

 Several countries around the world have implemented plain packaging policies, including Australia, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and France. Studies have shown that plain packaging reduces the appeal of tobacco products, increases the effectiveness of health warnings, and reduces the utility of packaging as a way to mislead consumers about the harms associated with smoking.  The World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco supports the implementation of plain packaging policies as a means to retain the effectiveness of health warnings on packages.

Mihevc reiterated the Board of Health’s full support for plain packaging.  “As a public health agency, we have an extensive tobacco control plan but we need to continue to evolve it.  Thank you to Nicola Roxon for sharing her experience and best practices from Australia.  I’m encouraged to see other Canadian jurisdictions like Montreal pressing for this change, and I hope that Health Canada is taking notice.”

Media Contacts:

Councillor Mihevc – Skylar Maharaj, 416-392-0208s.maharaj@toronto.ca

Minister Roxon – Daniel Paquette, 416-413-7714dppr@rogers.com

 

Supplementary materials:

HL 13.8 – Plain and Standardized Packaging of Tobacco Products http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2016.HL13.8

Letter from Acting Medical Officer of Health Dr. Barbara Yaffe to Health Canada (attached)

City of Montreal Council decision CM16 0816 on plain and standardized packaging (attached)

“Plain and Standardized Tobacco Packaging: Correcting the Myths” by the Non-Smokers’ Rights Association (attached)

 

source: Marvin Rotrand

Written by: DJ Yuwie

Rate it

Previous post

Press Release

Great News Direct Air Canada Flight from Montreal to Shanghai

City Councillor Marvin Rotrand welcomed today’s announcement that Air Canada will soon launch direct service from Montreal to Shanghai. “This is exactly the type of service that City Council envisioned when we mandated the Executive Committee to work with Aeroports de Montreal to obtain more direct flights from Montreal to major business centres and emerging markets worldwide,” said Rotrand whose motion in 2014 launched Council’s reflections. During its debate, City […]

todaySeptember 23, 2016 19

Post comments (0)

Leave a reply

Live Stream
Sorry, there is nothing for the moment.
YouTube Channel
Sorry, there is nothing for the moment.

LISTEN WITH YOUR APP

0%
Skip to toolbar