The makers of cigarette brands like Peter Styvesant and Horizon, Imperial Tobacco are taking the fight to the government on plain packaging. Good for them.
Its a No Nanny State campaign, a far superior effort to that produced last year on behalf of the big tobacco companies. I cant even remember what the campaign was called.
Imperial Tobacco's campaign has included a media blitz, including a couple of half decent ads aired during prime time. It may not have the clout of the mining tax campaign, but it is a pretty good start. Hopefully it can highlight the folly of wasting time on poorly designed policy.
The whole idea of a nanny state and intrusion into our lives is gaining traction in Australia. It occupies a terrible amount of time in the tabloid dailies as well as our favorite shows A Current Affair and Today Tonight. Unfortunately the latter seem to be consumed with one of the few nanny state ideas which actually is useful - speed cameras. But that's a whole other story.
Because we are so attuned to being nannied, Imperial Tobacco's advertising concept is on the money in my opinion.
The following is from the No Nanny State website, which calls on people to contact their MP to protest the changes.
"You may be a smoker. You may be a non-smoker. Either way, you'll be aware of the associated health risks. The current packaging makes that abundantly clear. The Government now wants to remove almost all branding and increase the graphic health warning to cover 75% of the front of the pack. It seems the Government doesn't believe you can make your own decisions. More and more, the Government is telling us what we should and shouldn't do. And while many rules are necessary in a modern society, there needs to be a limit. The proposed Plain Packaging Legislation is quite simply regulation gone too far."
About Just Grumpy
23 comments
Whilst I agree with the sentiment of a "No Nanny State", doing anything to reduce the prevalance of smoking in society is important. The disease burden as a result of smoking is huge and needs to be reduced. As a someone who operates in the health care system, it is easy to see that if we could reduce smoking that the health care system would free up, reducing costs, increasing efficiency and increasing societal health and well being. A far greater gain that any tax that could be earned on cigarettes. I think Imperial have missed the point of the argument with the nanny state concept, its far too generic to be targetted at jsut smoking, certainly gets teh average person on side because lets face it, how likes being told what to do. The Legislation is about behaviour modification of young (15 and 16 year olds) "adults" to take away the temptation of smoking. Reduced temptation, reduced incidence right? The solution is long term and might take 30 years to show signifcant alterations but anything is better than nothing when it comes to people poisoning themselves. Good luck with the blog mate, will be keen to read the coming posts. Cheers
I personally believe that you can't save people from their own stupidity, so the Nanny State is a bit of waste of time, yes. BUT, unless the population of Australia is OUTRAGED by plain packaging (and apparently, they aren't) I think the Nanny state complaint is drawing the argument away from the REAL issue. Cigarettes kill people and it's a pretty miserable and frightening way to go. Slow and scary. All the legislation to do with tobacco should be aimed at incremental steps leading to the complete elimination of smoking. I think the plain packaging is a step in the right direction, and so do the tobacco companies, because they are desperate to stop this happening. Tobacco companies are not interested in whether or not we live in a Nanny State. The CEO does not have a Nanny state KPI linked to his pay. Tobacco companies are in it for the money...
Considering the evidence we have on smoking and subsequent ill health, what the government SHOULD be doing to them would make James Hardie look like they were discplined by a nanny.
There's not too many things in this world that I hate, but smoking is one of them. I have no sympathy at all for tobacco companies, and support the introduction of plain cigarette packaging. They're pretending to dress this up as an individual freedom issue, when all they really care about is their revenues.
Sigh this is what happens what they let people who have too much money and the maturaty of a 10 year old in power. I agree with the plain packaging although you can't ban smoking altogether if you don't know what brand or strength you need to buy then you shouln't be smoking. I don't know what everyone is complaining about the people who smoke will always find a way around it. Stop crying like immature babies and suck it up and deal with the consiquenses of killing yourself and potentially your whole family. Deal with it if i had it my way smoking would be banned for life. People get thrown in jail for killing one person and yet the tabbaco companies sell somthing that kills many people every day but they get away with it. Perfect crime right there.
well i think if they dont wont us to smoke or drink dont sell them
Smoking is bad for you full stop - Australia is taking the lead ... good job - the next step should be to make them presciption only....from a one time smoker who managed to quit and is now richer, happier and can taste his food again.
a nanny state is no good but this campaign ain't about the nanny state its about big business trying to protect its profits ..... if youbwant a little risk do something constructive.... ride fast....surf .... skateboard ... climb .... be active ....smoking ...is for losers!
Say No To a Nanny state !!! it won't stop at smoke packets they'll slowly take everything they see fit and say it's for our own good .
also to force somone not to smoke or drink etc.. is the same as forceing them to ! .
riding fast....surfing .... skateboarding ... climbing are all dangerous too and some cause problems for others .the point is do as you choose but don't bother or harm others with it ,Thats freedom of choise without it we are nothing.
Cigarettes are diferent from anything else we legally put in our mouths.
Used as suggested it is the only product that will kill you.
Say no to selling delayed painful tragic preventable death.
This isn't about business rights, IP rights or even freedom of choice. It's about truly despicable loathesome people who pretend they perform a civic duty by killing our brothers, sisters, parents and children while laughing all the way to the bank.
I don't believe in capital punishment, yet in the case of tobacco marketers and manufacturers a quick painless death is too good for them.
BTW it's almost certain that if you're a Christian and you work at a tobacco company you'll rot in hell for eternity.
If you're not a Christian and work at a tobacco company you're body will be infested with maggots for eternity as every time they approach your cancerous body they'll puke at the stench your cigarettes have created.
Apart from that, have a nice day!
The Government has lined up a multi million dollar war chest to promote olive green packaging of cigs, and to battle potential future lawsuits from disgruntled smokers (now! there's an idea!) and ciggie manufacturers ...
Now no where in the world has done this to packaging and there is no proof that it will "work", what? make it harder for us to give the govt $12 in tax a packet?
The quit lobby, Roxon, assorted politicians, the media and various people are throwing around "educated" comments about this (not!) .. but no one has asked the people that smoke!
I couldn't give a rats if the packaging is olive green, bile yellow, fleuro orange or funeral grey! I don't smoke the packet, only whats inside them!
But it does give me the craps when I used to be able to see what brand was on special one week and what new brands are etc ... all I can say is thank god, I took great note of all the ones I liked, before all cigs got covered behind closed doors.
Now if I ask "how much is a packet of XXx cigs again?" they say they're not allowed to display them or tell me, as they're in big trouble as its perceived as advertising or promotion.
So I have to say, ok, I'll take that, then they get the packet, scan it, then tell me what I have to pay.
So I just say, ok then, I'll take a packet of this one and that one too ... as they can't tell me or even remind me of (you know the blue ones starting with xxx - forgotten the name now ...) and then they run all these up at the till, andI can see on the screen the costs etc, so I say "ok, i've changed my mind, I'll just take the 2nd one, you can put the other 3 packs back ..."
WHAT A WASTE OF FRIG TIME!!!!! when I find out the price and get the smokes, when I'M PAY FOR THEM!
these dumb laws are like, you going into a shop and instead of picking out the brand of milk you like, you are told that you get one by default, intend to pay for it before you actually get a look at what you are purchasing!
It's HARRASSMENT AND BULLYING BY THE LOBBYISTS AND THE GOVERNMENT, AND WE MUST NOT TOLERATE IT OR SUCCUMB TO IT - Power to the People - US, we're all smart people who love and love others, yet we are being treated like lepers who creep out of the quarantine area now and then ... treatment of smokers is almost getting to the double standards that "negroes" put up with in the 50's, we're separated from the general population and treated like scum, enough is enough.
and its fine for the cig companies to want us to complain, but heck, they got us all addicted, so they should be fighting this battle for us, not expecting us to do the hard yards for free (none of the big wigs in the ciggie companies smoke - did you know that? It's true ... ) so they take out money and want us to fight against packaging and tax for them, when they have the money and the lawyers to do it, not the smokers.
good luck people!
The only way to stop all this .... just ban them - make cigs illegal, then the smoke companies would have to crawl away and die and the smokers WOULD HAVE TO GIVE UP ... but that will never happen as the tax is too lucrative for the government ...
STOP PICKING ON THE SMOKERS, pick on the government who perpetuate the problem. if the baccie companies cant produce legal product, they disappear, so the smokers will dwindle and quit.
But the govt loves its $14 a pack tax thanks.
I am a NON-smoker. No way I would ever touch the stuff. But I'm always amazed at how stupid 99.99% of people really are. Completely unable to see the big issues.
FIRST, what if you couldn't tell the difference between a bottle of Hahn Light and Tooheys Old? Or an iMac a Dell or a Toshiba? Between a Suzuki and a BMW? Whatever, between your favorite product and a competitors product. What if the government could strip away a company's intellectual property like this without even compensating the company or it's shareholders? Starting to get the idea? A watershed moment in Australian history, and almost NOBODY gets it.
SECOND, it is estimated that somewhere between 6% and 10% of all tobacco products sold in the world are illegal counterfeits. So we can't know what's in those products. The big concern with plain packaging is that these criminals will be the big winners, because it will become super easy for them to make copies. So contrary to ill-informed popular opinion, there actually are ENORMOUS health concerns associated with plain packaging.
Scary how a government can get it so wrong. Even more scary that the media and general populace are going along with without even a whimper. Remember Nazi Germany? This is how it happens people!
A pointless campaign on behalf of cigarette marketing men. This is not about civil liberties as some would have you believe. Cigarettes aren't being banned, you will still be able to buy them! If a smoker can't remember what brand to ask for in the shop, then they probably shouldn't be outside anyway.
The REAL issue here is about branding of cigarettes and product differentation and this is what the cigarette companies are concerned about. Most smokers get addicted to cigarettes early in life and then stick to the one brand until they die (usually prematurely)... so plain packaging will lessen the power of the cigarette companies to market their harmful product to young people. The worry of the tobacco companies is about being unable to effectively recruit new smokers to their brand of cigarettes in the future. Plain packaging is just another logical step in depriving the companies of their brand power (it isn't that long ago that cigarette advertising was all over the media and sport)and I repeat you will still be able to go into the shop and buy your cigs so smokers stop complaining.
The previous commenter must work for the government. Brands are some of the most important and valuable property in our society, and our civil liberties are very closely tied to property rights. If a government can take away a brand, they can do anything. None of our civil liberties are safe. I know, as I said earlier, 99.9% of people don't seem to have the intellectual capability to grasp this extremely simple legal concept. The fact that selling cigarettes remains a legal activity proves my point, explained 2 posts earlier. If the government wished to simply ban the tobacco industry that would be entirely different and I would support that, but they would still have to compensate the companies and their shareholders.
'99.9% of people don't seem to have the intellectual capability to grasp this extremely simple legal concept'
...they probably do have the intellectual capability but just don't agree with your point of view - frustrating isn't it when you are right and everyone else is wrong?
One of the cornerstones of our freedoms is the concept of protecting the minority from the majority. So if the majority, "believing they are right" wish to steal or destroy my property, the law is supposed to protect me from that. Yes I know, a difficult concept to understand, but a profound one.
this is out of control first you promote sport with cigarettes then you ban that then beer takes over as the new sponsor wat a joke and now ya want to tax the living shit out of cigarettes and both of these are the biggest killers in this country r you going to take the labels of alcohol and hide them under the counter too dickheads
The tobacco industry has come a long way. Suave jet setting ads of decades ago have been replaced by a "nonannystate" campaign. Viva la decline.
What a sick f@#%en country!
Wake up Aussie and start a revolution. Don't you think that government is interfereing with our daily lifes too much? Enough is enough.
Pretty soon they will tell us when to eat, when to shit.
Is there another country with so many rules, regulations and limits imposed on its residents?
Yes there is: Zimbabwe, are we going to be another Zimbabwe? Looks like because our democracy is fast transforming into dictatorship.
Pick your lip up.
Smoking isn't being banned and nor will it be. ITS A DETERRENT!!! A Massive difference between taking cigarette labels out of view and a dictatorship.
If you're a smoker, then what should you care? Is it that important to you to have all your friends see what brand of cigarettes you smoke?
Why don't we ban everything, including whingers!
In the end smokers will still smoke...Drinkers will still drink. The ciggy whingers are rising to a Jumbo jet crescendo at the moment...Look out quaffers of amber fluid you're next!!!
I have just spent 6 weeks with a woman who is dying from lung disease caused by smoking. Imagine breathing through a very skinny straw 24/7, your unable to physically inhale any more oxygen night and day, now try to live.
Walk to the letter box, make the bed, have a shower, brush your teeth, exist in the world, these simple tasks are no longer possible for the self inflicted victims of smoking, a slow and terifing miserable way to die.
I will give up my civil liberties to choice, to save another person from this devastating death.
i disagree with you and support what ross said 100%
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