• March 29, 2024

Plain packs said to work like a ‘vaccine’ on young

A New Zealand public health expert says that evidence from Australia shows that standardized tobacco packaging has worked almost like a vaccine against tobacco use in children and young people.

According to a story by Martin Johnston for the New Zealand Herald, Robert Beaglehole, a University of Auckland emeritus professor, is one of a number of individuals and organizations lobbying the government to bring its standardized tobacco packaging bill back to parliament for a final vote.

The health select committee last year supported the bill but the government delayed bringing it back pending the outcome of the challenges being made against Australian standardized packaging legislation.

But those lobbying the government say that the decline in smoking seen in Australia since its standardized tobacco packaging law came into force in December 2012 means New Zealand can dally no longer.

‘Australian survey data shows the prevalence of daily smoking in those aged 14 or older declined from 15.1 percent in 2010, before the new law came into effect, to 12.8 percent in 2013,’ Johnston wrote.

The 2011 and 2012 figures were not given.