No guarantee with plain packs

As Canada considers the implementation of standardized tobacco packaging regulations, Sinclair Davidson, a professor of economics at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University in Australia, warned that the policy will not yield the desired results if Canada’s experience turns out like that of his country, according to a CBC story relayed by the TMA.

Speaking on the CBC’s On The Coast show, Davidson said that household expenditure on tobacco products rose in the year after the introduction of the standardized packaging law in Australia in December 2012.

And he said that there had been a 26 percent increase in the illegal trade in tobacco products as brand loyalty dissipated in the face of generic packaging, prompting consumers to switch to significantly less expensive contraband products.

It was not clear, Davidson added, if the increased spending reflected existing smokers buying more or new smokers picking up the habit.

“Once you take into account the price effects and you take into account the general decline in smoking anyway, there’s no evidence to support the hypothesis that the plain packaging had any effect in itself,” Davidson said.

His remarks contrast with the Australian government’s 2016 review of the policy, where it reported that “early available evidence indicates that the measure is beginning to achieve its public health objectives and is expected to continue to do so into the future”.