Tomorrow Australia will become the first country in the world to strip all cigarette packets of branding, leaving the boxes covered in graphic health warnings.
The new law bans the use of logos, brand imagery, symbols and colours and promotional text, leaving the boxes all the same dark brown colour with the brand written in small simple text under a health warning covering at least 85 per cent of the packaging.
Images of example cigarette packaging were today launched ahead of the law coming in tomorrow.
They show sufferers of tongue cancer, peripheral vascular disease and lung cancer.
It is the latest drastic measure to try and get smokers to give up in Australia which already has one of the world’s lowest smoking rates.
The government hopes to deter young people from starting smoking with the new packaging after research found that if people have not started smoking by age 26, there is a 99 percent chance they will never take it up.
Federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek said: “Even from a very early age, you can see that kids understand the message that the tobacco company is trying to sell through their branding.”
Australia has banned TV advertising, sports sponsorship and demands sellers hide cigarettes from view.
Would you pick up a box of these?
The graphic images are the Australian government’s way to deter young people from smoking.
People will be faced with these images on shop shelves…
