New Cigarette Packaging Scares Smokers

 GOVERNMENT has introduced a new anti-smoking campaign that involves the use of hideous graphic images on cigarette packs to discourage smokers.

The health ministry's spokesperson Ester Paulus said the new cigarette packaging is part of the amended Tobacco Control Act of 2010.

She said the amended regulations call for all foreign companies that export cigarettes into the country to feature the images on their products to discourage smoking.

“All cigarettes packages should have the type of pictures that show types of diseases that come as a result of smoking so that people can stop smoking. People should stop smoking,” said Paulus.

Dunhill and Peter Stuyvesant are some of the companies that have put on their cigarette packets images of cancer-infected lungs, rotten teeth and all sorts of deformities that come as a result of smoking.

The graphic images have sent smokers squirming in fear of getting cancer and other smoking related diseases.

People who spoke to The Namibian yesterday said they were definitely scared and some made promises to quit when they saw the packaging while others say the addiction to smoking overrode their fear and they continue to buy the cigarettes anyway.

Thirty six-year-old John Karumba who has been smoking for the past seven years, said he changes the casing so that he doesn't have to look at those scary photos.

Another smoker Charlie who uses R1 Slim Ultra online said when he goes out to buy cigarettes, he makes sure that he asks for the ones in the old packages that do not have the graphic images.

“It is very discouraging to see those photos. But I will not stop smoking now, maybe next year,” said Charlie.

Indonesia Refuses to Sign Convention on Tobacco Control

The Government in Indonesia took a decision not to sign Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in order to protect the countrys tobacco industry. According to Faiz Ahmad, the chief of beverage and tobacco industries at the industry ministry, the decision is very effective because it will work due to existence of the agency which

New tobacco regulations in Franklin

The Board of Health will hold a public hearing next month on whether to pass comprehensive new tobacco regulations. The three-member board scheduled the hearing for its Jan. 7 meeting, set to begin at 10 a.m. at the Municipal Building, 355 East Central St. Health Director David McKearney wrote the proposed regulations.

If passed, the controls would reshape how the town handles tobacco sales, raising the legal age to purchase tobacco products to 19 and establishing a tobacco and nicotine delivery products permit, administered by the board. Currently the town does not have a local tobacco permit for businesses, which still must acquire a license from the state Department of Revenue in order to sell cigarettes and other tobacco products.

Largely the board supported the rigorous regulations. However, two members protested increasing the purchase age to 21 — a stipulation included in the first draft of the regulations — and chose 19 as a compromise.

"I think (the age) should stay at 18," Philip Brunelli said, pointing out that if teenagers can go to war at 18, they should have the right to smoke a pack of cigarettes, as well.

Businesses that sell tobacco products would find themselves with a new fee to pay should the regulations pass. In addition to the state license, they would have to pay the board an annual fee of $150 for a local tobacco permit. The board can then make unannounced periodic inspections of the business.

The board also seeks to regulate how businesses sell certain tobacco products. Under the regulations, businesses cannot sell single cigars under $2.50, self-service displays of tobacco products are prohibited and roll-your-own cigarette machines are banned.

In addition, the regulations tighten the town’s rules on smoking in public places. The board intends to bar smoking at so-called hookah bars, membership and association clubs, such as the American Legion, as well as at any town buildings, parks or recreation areas. This includes marijuana and electronic cigarettes.

Graphic Warning Labels on Cigarette Packs could Reduce Smokers in the US

A new study published in Tobacco Control journal demonstrates that graphic warning labels on cigarette packs resulted in decrease in smoking rates in Canada by 20% in 2009. The authors of the study say that if the USA introdused graphic warnings, it would help to decrease significantly number of smokers in the country. However, FDA

Quebec takes advice from Australia on strict tobacco laws

The woman behind Australia’s strict tobacco laws is in Quebec City this week to advocate for plain cigarette packaging in the province.

On Tuesday, former Australian health minister Nicola Roxon will be briefing a national assembly committee, which is considering revisions to the Quebec Tobacco Act, telling members about Australia’s packaging restrictions.

Roxon says that while it’s too early to measure the long-term effect of the changes, Australia put into effect in December, she has already seen research suggesting the new packs encourage people to think about quitting more often.

Australia's new regulations mean cigarette packs are stripped of all advertising and logos and replaced with graphic health warnings.

The only differences between brands are the names and descriptions, which must all be written in the same plain font.

Roxon says some people have even reported their cigarettes tasted worse in the new packs. She hopes Quebec will take her advice and consider changing its packaging laws.

For many years, Australia followed the lead of Quebec and Canada when it came to tobacco control, but Roxon says they noticed tobacco companies were discovering loopholes.

“We saw the packs getting sexier and sexier, basically, and getting around our advertising laws by turning those packs themselves into a promotional tool,” Roxon told CBC’s Daybreak.

She said tobacco companies were becoming increasingly aggressive and targeting young audiences with colourful packaging.

“It means that a smoker, every time that they took a packet of cigarettes out of their pocket or out of their purse, were really advertising the product to their friends and colleagues,” Roxon says.

The former minister warns that tobacco companies will do everything possible to lobby against stricter regulation, but she says it’s worth it.