Australian Government enforces cigarette stick health warnings while menthols phased out

Source: News Editor, https://www.news.com.au/ , Zoe De Koning,First Published April 24, 202

Aussie smokers will be reminded of the consequences of the harmful habit beyond the packaging, with the introduction of new warning labels on individual cigarette sticks.

The move is one of many new mandatory changes to tobacco products set to come into effect from Tuesday.

A cigarette with a warning makes health messaging unavoidable, as the wording is printed on the filter which doesn’t burn down, according to a joint statement released by Quit and Cancer Council.

The Department of Health and Aged Care said one of eight on-product health messages must be duplicated on opposite sides of the filter of every cigarette.

Australia is the second country in the world to introduce warnings on individual sticks, following Canada, with phrases to include ‘causes 16 cancers’ and ‘damages your lungs’.

Professor Sarah Durkin of Cancer Council Victoria said updated messaging was essential to deter Australians from smoking.

“Graphic health warnings have long proven effective in increasing knowledge about the harms of smoking, preventing smoking uptake and encouraging people who smoke to quit,” she said.

“But evidence has shown that the effectiveness of the current warnings has decreased over time, as people have become accustomed to seeing the images.”