Coalition supports plain packaging but the fight's not over
21 Jun 2011
On May 31st, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott announced the coalition would support the government's proposal to put cigarettes in plain packs.
It was fantastic news that gave Quit and health groups around the world something special to celebrate on World No Tobacco Day - which symbolically fell on the same day as the announcement.
The coalition's decision to support plain packaging comes after months of lobbying from Quit to raise public awareness about the benefits of stripping cigarettes of their branding.
Plain packaging is a key reform in our continued efforts to bring down smoking rates and stop young people taking up smoking.
Although we're extremely heartened by the coalition's announcement, we know the tobacco industry will do all they can to stop the reform.
Big tobacco last week launched another nation-wide media campaign - this time painting Australia as a ‘nanny state'.
We urge parliamentarians not to be swayed from their pledges by the industry's bully-boy tactics.
The fight for plain packaging continues and we'll only know the job is done when watertight legislation passes through parliament in the coming months.
Anything we can do to take desirability away from a product that kills one in every two long-term users is a good thing - especially when it comes to young people.
Find out the facts about plain packaging of cigarettes, including a summary of research evidence.