Countries New Zealand and Norway advocate for standardised packaging for cigarettes
In a bid to combat the devastating effects of smoking, several countries are moving towards standardised, plain tobacco packaging. This shift, which eliminates branding and distinctive colours from cigarette packs, has been hailed as an effective strategy to reduce tobacco consumption.
The journey towards plain packaging began in 2013 when New Zealand proposed the idea, but it was put on hold pending the outcome of tobacco giant Philip Morris' legal action against the Australian government's introduction of the packets a year earlier. Australia, the first country to introduce plain packaging four years ago, has shown a significant impact on the number of habitual smokers.
The World Health Organization (WHO) attributes 0.55 points out of a total 2.0-percentage point drop in smoking rates in Australia to the neutral packaging introduced in December 2012. The WHO voiced hope that the push to remove logos and distinctive colours from cigarette packs is "going global".
New Zealand and Norway announced on May 31 that they will remove branding from cigarette packets. These developments follow the failures of tobacco giants Philip Morris International and other companies like British American Tobacco, Imperial Tobacco, and Japan Tobacco International (JTI) to block the British legislation in early May 2016.
The risks of tobacco companies being successful in legal action against governments implementing plain packaging are reducing. Last December, the lawsuit against the Australian government by tobacco giant Philip Morris International failed.
The new packs sold in Australia, Britain, and France are intentionally ugly, covered with graphic health warnings, with no promotional information allowed and brand and product names displayed in standard colour and font size. Each of these deaths is preventable, according to associate Health Minister Sam Lotu-Iiga.
The WHO hails this move as an effective way to cut smoking rates. Oleg Chestnov, the World Health Organization Assistant Director-General for noncommunicable diseases, stated that plain packaging will save lives. Plain packaging is so effective because it clearly labels tobacco as the only legally available product worldwide that when used as intended, kills up to half of its users.
The tobacco industry fights hardest against the measures that are most effective, according to Douglas Bettcher, who heads WHO's non-communicable disease prevention unit. Margaret Chan, WHO chief, stated that imposing neutral cigarette packs kills the glamour, which is appropriate for a product that kills people.
The WHO's 2005 Framework Convention for Tobacco Control includes plain packaging as one of many tactics aimed at reducing tobacco consumption, alongside protecting people from exposure to tobacco smoke, banning tobacco advertising and sales to minors, and requiring health warnings on all products.
According to the WHO, one person dies from tobacco-caused disease every 6 seconds, amounting to nearly six million people each year. In New Zealand, 12 people die prematurely every day from smoking-related illnesses.
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key admitted that the fact that many countries were adopting the packaging had emboldened his government to ignore the threat of legal action from Big Tobacco. The WHO's hope for a global shift towards plain packaging remains strong, as more countries consider this effective strategy to combat the tobacco epidemic.
