Australian Cigarette Packaging

Over the past decade there has been enormous changes in legislation relating to the sale and promotion of Tobacco. On 1^st December 2012, Australia implemented new legislation that has set the bar even higher in terms of how cigarette brands are sold.

Now, all brands of cigarettes in Australia must be sold in the same brown package. These packages carry graphic images and health warnings. The Australian government aim to remove the glamour from smoking, they intend to reduce the level of smokers from 15% to below 10% by 2018. The initiative is particularly focused on the prevention of teenagers taking up smoking in the fist place. However, the move is also set to reduce the number of those smoking also. Research found that when a particular brand was given to a sample of 640 people from the branded packaging and from plain label packets the branded packet scored higher in terms of taste, flavour and aroma.

Cigarette companies did take this new legislation to the high court on the grounds that in infringed on their intellectual property, however the courts ruled against their case.

The hope is that now other countries will follow suit, in particular the EU have shown signs of adopting similar legislation surrounding the sale of cigarettes.

Is this initiative something that should be introduced into Ireland and would it have the desired affect, ie reducing the number of smokers and preventing teenagers from starting in the first place?