Australia continues its fight against cigarettes. Some states like Queensland are even considering banning smoking for people born after 2001.
Australia is a pioneer in tobacco control. According to the newspaper The world, several states are preparing to considerably toughen the law to encourage Australians to quit smoking. Some, like Queensland, are even considering banning smoking for people born after 2001.
A package at 16.76 euros
On January 1, 2017, French tobacconists will only be able to sell packs of neutral cigarettes. This measure was taken more than three years ago in Australia. This country was the first to introduce this olive green-colored package without a logo, where images of health warnings take up two-thirds of the package. The cigarettes on sale are also hidden behind a counter, and locked in a cupboard where is written “Smoking kills” or “Stop smoking”. The price of a package can reach 26.50 Australian dollars, or 16.76 euros.
Drastic measures
From September 2017, Australia will increase the price of the package by 12.5% each year for four years, reaching up to 27 euros in 2020. But Australia is not stopping there, it will ban the sale of zero-rated cartridges at airports as well as those brought back from abroad. Travelers will only be able to bring back 25 cigarettes per person compared to 50 currently.
More and more places where smoking is prohibited
According to the website Mail Online, from Even more drastic measures could be taken in some states. In Queensland, in north-eastern Australia, 3,700 people die each year from tobacco-related causes, according to the non-governmental organization, Cancer Council Queensland, specializing in the fight against cancer. On May 16, its chairman Jeff Dunn proposed to ban the sale of cigarettes to people born after 2001. Queensland Minister of Health Cameron Dick said he would give it some thought. The politician is known for his commitment to the fight against tobacco. He has already passed a law banning the sale of cigarettes at festivals, smoking at bus and taxi stops, near areas reserved for children and in pedestrian streets.
Other states are following in the footsteps of Queensland, such as Victoria (Melbourne), which has increased the number of places where smoking is prohibited. In Sydney, New South Wales, smoking is prohibited on beaches. Those who break the law will have to pay a fine of 110 Australian dollars, or 71 euros.
Encouraging measures
These drastic measures are proving to be effective. In 2013, 12.8% of people over 14 smoked, compared to 25% in 1993. The measures used, such as anti-smoking campaigns, mainly target aborigines; more than a third of the community uses tobacco.
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