Over the past week or so, the case of plain tobacco
packaging laws has hit the pages of our newspapers and the top stories on our
television screens. Before this, I had very little knowledge about this
legislation and I was surprised to hear that the laws were passed late last
year!!
For those of you who were living in the dark just
as I was, four big tobacco companies are challenging the plain packaging laws,
which will require all cigarettes and tobacco products to be sold in plain
olive-brown packs from December 2012. This case, which has caught international
attention, is being heard by the full bench of the High Court. Tobacco
companies are throwing everything they’ve got at the legal challenge because
they are worried other countries could follow Australia's lead if the government
wins.
I don’t want to spark a debate here (I am just a
simple little blogger) but I am all for plain packaging just as I am for all
warnings placed on cigarette packets. It’s not as though the government is
trying to ban smoking. It is taking action to try and diminish the harm that
smoking does to individuals and the Australian health system. Tobacco companies
want to be able to make cigarettes look more attractive and keep selling their
product.
Coming from a family where two members have
confronted cancer as a result of smoking, I can gladly say that plain packaging
laws are putting my mind at rest. Of course, people who smoke or have every
intention of smoking will continue to do so, but if plain packaging stops just
a few from taking it up, then this law is doing its job in my books.
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