5.6 Package labelling of health warnings

In 1969, legislation was introduced in Australia enabling a health warning to appear on cigarette packages. The legislation was not implemented until 1973, when the simple message 'Warning -- Smoking is a health hazard' first appeared.(21) In May 1985, Australian state health ministers agreed that they would introduce four different warnings, to appear with equal frequency, on all tobacco packages (not just those for cigarettes).

The warnings initially agreed upon were: 'Smoking kills', 'Smoking is addictive', 'Smoking causes lung cancer and heart disease', and 'Smoking damages your lungs'. The warnings were to take up 20% of the front and back of the pack, and appear in white type on a black background.

The warnings were bitterly resisted by the industry, prompting the then Federal Minister for Health, Dr Neal Blewett, to state that:

Ministers have conducted detailed negotiations with the tobacco industry in a sincere effort to reach agreement. Despite our willingness to reach an agreed position, I regret that the industry was unable to make any serious attempt to compromise with Ministers.(45)

As a direct result of industry pressure the warnings were amended to:

Smoking causes lung cancer
Smoking damages your lungs
Smoking causes heart disease
Smoking reduces your fitness

The attribution statement 'Health Authority Warning' followed each warning. The warnings have been printed in 'contrasting colours', selected at the manufacturer's discretion, on the front and back of the pack and occupying 15% of the total face area of the labelled surfaces. The warnings have appeared on cigarette and loose tobacco packages, but not on cigar packages. As part of the agreement with the tobacco industry, health ministers undertook not to seek further amendments for a period of five years.(45)

All states and territories introduced or amended regulations or legislation to accommodate the new warnings. The warnings also appeared on print advertisements and billboards, by virtue of a mixture of voluntary agreements and legislation, although in many cases the warnings were rendered ineffective. See Chapter 15, Section 3 for further discussion.

New labelling requirements

Smoking causes lung cancer
Smoking causes heart disease
Smoking causes emphysema
Smoking is a major cause of stroke
Smoking causes peripheral vascular disease
Smoking reduces your fitness
Smoking kills
Most smokers develop permanent lung damage
Your smoking can harm others
Smoking is addictive
Stopping smoking reduces your risk of serious disease
Smoking in pregnancy can harm the unborn child

These warnings were to occupy at least 25% of the front of the pack, and appear on the 'flip-top' instead of at the foot of the pack. In addition to the health warning, the whole of the back of the pack was to carry detailed information about the health effects of smoking.

Following the 1992 MCDS agreement, only Western Australia gazetted regulations to bring these new warnings into effect. At a meeting of the MCDS in July 1993, a compromise set of proposals were once again agreed by all states and territories. The new recommendations dropped six of the proposed 12 rotating warnings and reduced the size of the back of pack information from the full back of the pack to one-third of this panel.(46) However, the Victorian Government once again declined to keep the agreement, instead announcing that it intended to adopt an entirely different labelling protocol based on that used by the European Community. The EC warnings were more explicit than the current Australian warnings, but not as strong as those agreed upon by the MCDS.(47)

The then Minister for Health, Senator Richardson, responded by announcing that the federal government would ensure that labelling of health warnings was uniform across the country, by introducing regulations under federal law which would override those of any state or territory.(48) The Trade Practices (Consumer Product Information Standards)(Tobacco) Regulations were gazetted under the Trade Practices Act 1974 and introduced on 29 March 1994.

The new regulations require that all cigarette, loose tobacco and cigar packaging (with the exception of cigars sold singly) manufactured from 1 January 1995 must carry specified health warnings, and that cigarette packaging must also carry contents labelling (see Section 5.4 above). A warning message must appear on the front of the packaging, with the corresponding explanatory message (providing greater detail) appearing on the back of the pack, and a telephone number for an information service. Each warning and explanatory message is followed by the attribution statement 'Government Health Warning'. The following warning messages and explanatory messages are listed in Schedule 1 of the Regulations:

SMOKING CAUSES LUNG CANCER.

Tobacco smoke contains many cancer-causing chemicals including tar. When you breathe the smoke in, these chemicals can damage the lungs, and can cause cancer. Lung cancer is the most common cancer caused by smoking. Lung cancer can grow and spread before it is noticed. It can kill rapidly. For more information, call 13 2130.

SMOKING IS ADDICTIVE

Nicotine, a drug in tobacco, makes smokers feel they need to smoke. The more you smoke, the more your body will depend on getting nicotine and you may find yourself hooked. It may be difficult to give up smoking once you are hooked on nicotine. For more information, call 13 2130.

SMOKING KILLS

In Australia, tobacco smoking causes more illness and early death than using any other drug. Tobacco smoking causes more than four times the number of deaths caused by car accidents. For more information, call 13 2130.

SMOKING CAUSES HEART DISEASE

Tobacco smoking is a major cause of heart disease. It can cause blockages in the body's arteries. These blockages can lead to chest pain and heart attacks. Heart attack is the most common cause of death in Australia. Smokers run a far greater risk of having a heart attack than people who don't smoke. For more information, call 13 2130.

SMOKING WHEN PREGNANT HARMS YOUR BABY

Poisons in tobacco smoke reach your baby through the bloodstream. If you smoke when you are pregnant, you greatly increase the chance of having a baby of low birthweight. Smoking may lead to serious complications which could harm your baby. For more information, call 13 2130.

YOUR SMOKING CAN HARM OTHERS

Tobacco smoke causes cancer and poisons people. People who breathe in your tobacco smoke can be seriously harmed. Your smoking can increase their risk of lung cancer and heart disease. Children who breathe your smoke may suffer asthma attacks and chest illnesses. For more information, call 13 2130.

Both the warning and the explanatory message must be printed in black on a white background, within a black border. On a standard cigarette pack, the warning message must cover at least 25% of the area of the face on which it is printed, and the explanatory message at least 33.3% Both messages are to be positioned at the top edge of the pack faces, so that the warning message will appear on the front of the flip-top of packets of cigarettes. The messages are to appear in rotation, so that within the calendar year, each message should appear as nearly as possible on an equal number of retail packages of each brand and variant of tobacco. The regulations help ensure compliance by providing for all possible shapes and sizes of tobacco packaging.(33)

The tobacco industry has claimed that the new warnings are likely to reduce the range of imported brands, as overseas manufacturers will need to decide whether maintaining the size of their Australian market is worth the cost of complying with the packaging regulations. Although no locally produced brands are likely to be discontinued as a result of the new regulations, some brand variants may be dropped.(49)