Has plain packaging failed? Cigarette sales are on the rise

Australia’s plain packaging smoking legislation came into force back in December 2012, forcing all tobacco products to be sold in dull, drab boxes with no fancy design, branding, or manufacturer information. Instead, there was only permitted to be graphic and disturbing health warnings, aimed to deter smokers from continuing with the habit, and non-smokers from actually beginning to start smoking.

Logically, one would naturally expect sales of tobacco to maybe drop a year on after the world’s first law for such a requirement. However, remarkably the complete opposite has happened, and industry figures show that sales of tobacco products have actually increased since the plain packaging legislation kicked in.

The Australian Labor health minister Nicola Roxon pushed through the law almost 18 months ago as an attempt to discourage people from smoking, a habit which claims around 15,000 lives each year in the country, with social and economic costs estimated at $31.5 billion annually.

Unfortunately, the plan has clearly backfired tremendously with sales skyrocketing by an incredible 59 million cigarettes in 2013, up by 0.3% on the previous year. This rise comprises of both packaged cigarettes and the roll-your-own equivalents, according to ‘The Australian’ newspaper.

This increase marks a stark turnaround in broader trend of tobacco sales in Australia, which had previously declined by 15.6% in the four years prior.

However, the introduction of plain packaged tobacco appears to have boosted the demand for cheaper cigarettes, with reports of a more than 50 per cent rise in the market for lower cost cigarettes.

The findings stem from research conducted by industry monitor InfoView, demonstrating an increase in the market share of cheaper cigarettes, rising from 32% to 37% last year. This appears to be corroborated by retailers, consumer markets and the industry. For instance, cigarette maker Philip Morris claims its ­information has indicated absolutely no decline in demand.

Australasian Association of Convenience Stores chief executive Jeff Rogut said that sales by his members had risen by $120 million, or 5.4% last year. He commented: “Talking to members, one of the most common refrains they get from people coming into stores is, ‘What are your cheapest smokes?’.”

In addition, there has been more worrying statistics to emerge in recent weeks by the NSW and South Australian governments that show smoking appears to be increasing at a rapid rate.

The 2013 population health survey for NSW was published last month and stated that 16.4% of all adults residing in the state smoked, up from 14.7% in 2011. Moreover, for South Australia, a similar pattern was evident. The rate of adults smoking has increased from 16.7% in 2011 to 19.4% last year.

However, the opposition health spokesperson Catherine King spoke to The Australian and said she would ignore industry data and instead rely on information obtained from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which showed that rates of smoking were still dropping.

Asthma and premature births down 10% thanks to the smoking ban

The ban of smoking in public places has helped to reduce premature births and severe child childhood asthma attacks by 10%, according to research from Europe and the United States and published in the medical journal Lancet.

“Our research shows that smoking bans are an effective way to protect the health of our children,” said Jasper Been of the University of Edinburgh’s Centre for Population Health Sciences, who led the study.

He says their findings should hopefully result in anti-smoking laws being implemented in those cities, countries and districts that do not currently have such restrictions in place.

The smoking ban was introduced in England in 2007, making it illegal to smoke in all enclosed public places such as restaurants, nightclubs, bars, restaurants and shopping centres. The ban has previously been shown to be highly effective at protecting people from the serious health problems associated with passive (secondhand) smoking, with a 5% drop in asthma hospital emergencies in the years following the ban.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) say tobacco is responsible for the deaths of six million people around the world annually. Over 600,000 of these deaths are not even people who smoke, but those who have died due to heavy exposure to secondhand smoke. Health experts have predicted the worldwide death toll will rise to eight million by 2030 if current trends are kept up.

According to WHO, alarmingly there is just 16% of the world’s population that feel the benefits of being protected by comprehensive smoke-free laws, with a shocking 40% of children around the world being regularly exposed to secondhand smoke.

The new research in the Lancet, involved researchers from the University of Edinburgh, Maastricht University, Hasselt University in Belgium, Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital analysing data from over 2.5 million births and around 250,000 hospital visits in relation to asthma attacks and is the first comprehensive study assess exactly how anti-smoking legislation has impacted children’s health.

Co-author Professor Aziz Sheikh, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, in Boston, Massachusetts, and the University of Edinburgh, says there is still a huge opportunity to improve the health of more children around the world.

“The many countries that are yet to enforce smoke-free legislation should in the light of these findings reconsider their positions on this important health policy question.”

There has never been a better time to quit smoking than now following a massive price reduction on a wide range of products and medications, and this includes the smoking cessation treatment Champix. For example, an online consultation for the Champix starter pack was £75, but this has now come down to just £38.95.For those already in possession of a private prescription, the price is even lower, at just £27.48!

New York’s smoking laws due to be tightened

In the UK we have just come to the end of Stoptober, which finished on 28 October. The campaign was to encourage smokers to think about their health and the dangers of tobacco, in the hope that many will stop smoking for good.

However, across the Atlantic Ocean it seems our American counterparts are just as dedicated to reducing the number of people smoking with the fantastic news that New York City Council has voted to increase the minimum age for buying cigarettes from 18 to 21.

The current age limit of 18 years of age is a federal minimum that is standard in many places. Smokers are banned from smoking in any New York park and beach, in addition to the majority of the city’s restaurants.

The banning of anyone under the age of 21 purchasing or being sold cigarettes in New York City is amongst the strictest anti-smoking legislation in the U.S., and will be set at a higher age than nearly all other areas of the U.S. with the exception of just a few select places.

Those who lobbied for the change in the law have pointed to disappointing city statistics that show smoking rates for the youth of New York City has plateaued at 8.5% since 2007.

New York City mayor, Michael Bloomberg, is a strong advocate for anti-smoking measures and he now has 30 days to sign-off the bill. After this, the bill will be activated 180 days later.

“We know that tobacco dependence can begin very soon after a young person first tries smoking so it’s critical that we stop young people from smoking before they ever start,” Bloomberg said in a statement.

Mr Bloomberg had initially attempted to pass through legislation that would force all shops to have cigarettes out of public view, but this plan was scrapped earlier this year.

Another measure to be pushed through by New York City council members will see a base price of $10.50 (£6.55) being set for a packet of cigarettes and to bolster law enforcement’s role in the trade of illegal tobacco sales and distribution.

“This will literally save many, many lives,” said city councillor James Gennaro, the bill’s sponsor, whose mother and father died from tobacco-related illnesses. “I’ve lived with it, I’ve seen it…but I feel good today.”

As expected, cigarette companies have hit back and argue youths who smoke will simply turn to the black market to obtain their cigarettes, whilst there are those who consider it absurd that a person deemed to be old/mature enough to serve in the military is then told they are not old enough to smoke.

“New York City already has the highest cigarette tax rate and the highest cigarette smuggling rate in the country,” said Bryan D. Hatchell, a spokesman for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, which produces Camel and various other brands. “Those go hand in hand and this new law will only make the problem worse.”

Following yesterday’s vote, New York is now the largest city by some distance to ban the sake of cigarettes to 19 and 20-year-olds and a similar ban could occur in Hawaii, depending on the vote in December.

Presently, Needham, Massachusetts already has a minimum tobacco-buying age of 21 in, and this age will also be applied come January in nearby Canton, Massachusetts. New Jersey are also contemplating the same approach to buying cigarettes too.