The NSW Liberal/National Government’s announcement today of its support for plain packaging of tobacco products shows the Government is committed to reducing cancer deaths and continues a long tradition of bipartisan support for tobacco control in Australia, Cancer Council Australia said today.

CEO, Professor Ian Olver said the announcement from Health Minister Jillian Skinner that the NSW Government would support the Commonwealth’s plan to mandate plain packaging of tobacco products showed good health policy in Australia could cut across jurisdictional and party political boundaries.

“Minister Skinner should be commended for speaking in favour of plain packaging for tobacco products, particularly at this early stage in her tenure as Minister for Health in Australia’s most populous state,” Professor Olver said.

“We have always been optimistic that the bill to mandate plain packaging of tobacco products would receive bipartisan support.

“While federal Liberal and National Party parliamentarians are yet to vote on the bill, the strong position taken by their NSW colleagues continues a tradition in Australia of bipartisan support for policies that put population health before tobacco industry interests.”

Professor Olver said the look and feel of tobacco packaging was a powerful marketing tool, particularly for attracting new smokers, which was why the tobacco industry was so emphatic in opposing the plain packaging bill.

“Mandating plain packaging of tobacco products has enormous potential for reducing tobacco consumption in Australia, by far the largest cause of preventable cancer death in this country,” he said.

“The NSW Government should be commended for taking a strong leadership position with great potential to assist in reducing the death and disease burden of cancer in the state, particularly if it translates to a bipartisan vote in favour of the plain packaging bill in Federal Parliament.”

Source:

Cancer Council Australia