ON MAY 31 2016, World No Tobacco Day, the World Health Organisation (WHO) called on governments to get ready for plain (standardised) packaging of tobacco products as a part of a comprehensive approach to tobacco control, including restrictions on advertising and the promotion of tobacco products, and large graphic health warnings.

For many years the tobacco industry has successfully advertised tobacco as glamorous and beautiful, recruiting the youth and new smokers who are attracted by these misleading campaigns. Plain packaging counters these promotions by requiring that tobacco product packaging be neutral, and strong health warnings clear. It prevents the industry from placing misleading information on packaging that might lead people to believe that certain tobacco products pose less of a health risk. Ultimately, it restricts the use of tobacco packaging as a form of advertising and promotion, thereby taking the "glamour" away from tobacco use.

The simple truth is that plain packaging works in reducing the demand for tobacco products. And that is why advertising restrictions and plain packaging now face strong resistance from the tobacco industry. Plainly stated, tobacco kills half of the people who smoke. Therefore, the tobacco industry will fight any restrictions on advertising and promotion — simply because they must continuously use aggressive advertising and promotion to recruit new smokers.

And their focus has turned to emerging economies. Given the stronger laws on tobacco control and declines in demand in the developed world, the tobacco industry is focusing on new markets in Africa, Asia and Latin America with growing numbers of young people and relatively weak regulatory environments.

WHO director-general Margaret Chan rightly describes a massive tobacco industry misinformation campaign under way to try to prevent any further restrictions on advertising such as plain packaging. In 1993, major tobacco manufacturers formed a joint group to oppose plain packaging. Most recently, in a court challenge by the major tobacco manufacturers to plain packaging, the High Court of England and Wales rejected tobacco industry assertions that plain packaging was not effective. The courts stated that the industry put forward evidence that was "wholly untenable and resembled diatribe rather than expert opinion".

Large-scale evidence globally demonstrates that plain packaging reduces the attractiveness of tobacco products, including to children and adolescents. It increases the effectiveness of health warnings. And it reduces smoking prevalence.

The Australian government led the way in implementing plain packaging legislation, while also carrying out an evaluation of its impact. It found that the 2012 plain packaging legislation, including new and enlarged health warnings, reduced average smoking prevalence among Australians aged 14 years and over by 0.55 of a percentage point, leading to reductions in national prevalence. This early effect on smoking prevalence is expected to grow over time. Surveys are already showing reduced prevalence of smoking, with declines in total expenditure on tobacco products. In short, plain packaging is an effective public health intervention, especially when used in conjunction with health warnings and other public health policies.

The WHO is governed by 194 member states represented by ministers of health around the world. It is those ministers who have driven the plain packaging agenda as part of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. In their role as parties to the convention, governments adopted by consensus guidelines recommending plain packaging. Today, the convention has 180 parties, demonstrating the broad-based support globally for plain packaging.

Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has reiterated the government’s plan to amend the Tobacco Control Act and implement plain packaging. And many other countries are following suit in requiring plain packaging of tobacco products — Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Australia, France, Ireland and the UK, among others.

We can no longer afford to ignore the high health, social and economic costs of tobacco use. Public health systems are struggling to respond to the increasing numbers of people suffering from tobacco-related illnesses — cancers, lung disease, stroke, heart attack, hypertension and diabetes, among others. And many people who suffer are those exposed to tobacco smoke from living with family members, coworkers or friends who smoke — inadvertently exposing nonsmokers to the same deadly diseases.

The reality is that smoking is not glamorous. It is a deadly habit. Advertising restrictions and plain packaging take the "glamour" away from tobacco use, and provide people with clear and unambiguous information about its devastating health effects.

 

Source : bdlive.co.za

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