Liberman, Jonathan; Scollo, Michelle; Freeman, Becky; Chapman, Simon --- "Plain Tobacco Packaging in Australia: The Historical and Social Context" [2012] ELECD 808; in Voon, Tania; Mitchell, D. Andrew; Liberman, Jonathan; Ayres, Glyn (eds), "Public Health and Plain Packaging of Cigarettes" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2012)

Book Title: Public Health and Plain Packaging of Cigarettes

Editor(s): Voon, Tania; Mitchell, D. Andrew; Liberman, Jonathan; Ayres, Glyn

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9780857939425

Section: Chapter 3

Section Title: Plain Tobacco Packaging in Australia: The Historical and Social Context

Author(s): Liberman, Jonathan; Scollo, Michelle; Freeman, Becky; Chapman, Simon

Number of pages: 18

Extract:

3. Plain tobacco packaging in
Australia: the historical and social
context
Jonathan Liberman, Michelle Scollo, Becky
Freeman and Simon Chapman

I. BACKGROUND

On 6 July 2011, the Australian Minister for Health and Ageing, Nicola
Roxon, introduced the Tobacco Plain Packaging Bill 2011 (Cth) (`the bill')
into the Australian House of Representatives. The bill requires that, by 1
July 2012, all tobacco products sold in Australia be of plain appearance
and sold in `plain packaging'. As the Minister stated in her second reading
speech, the bill is `a world-first initiative'.1
Tobacco smoking remains one of the leading causes of prevent-
able death and disease in Australia, responsible for over 15 000 deaths
annually2 and total social costs of more than AU$31.5 billion.3 Plain
packaging ­ first announced in April 20104 ­ is regarded by the Australian
Government to be a `crucial step' in Australia's anti-smoking action plan,5
which also includes a 25 per cent excise increase,6 further investment in
anti-smoking social marketing, and legislation to restrict tobacco adver-
tising and promotion on the internet.7 Through this plan, Australia aims


1 Commonwealth, Parliamentary Debates, House of Representatives, 6 July

2011, 7708 (Nicola Roxon).
2 David J Collins and Helen M Lapsley, `The Costs of Tobacco, Alcohol and

Illicit Drug Abuse to Australian Society in 2004/05' (Department of Health and
Ageing, 2008) 40.
3 Ibid 65.
4 Kevin Rudd, Wayne Swan and Nicola Roxon, `Anti-Smoking Action' (Media

release, Office of the Prime ...