Butler on Wednesday said that Australia was once a world-leader on tobacco control but “we are now a laggard”.
Warnings on tobacco products were losing their impact,he said,while vapes marketed with “pink unicorns,bubblegum flavours[and] fruit flavours” were being circulated across schoolyards.
“The former government was asleep at the wheel as vaping rates skyrocketed. Our children are paying the price today,for that division and that delay,” Butler said. “And it’s not just vaping. I’m determined to see Australia reclaim its position as a world leader on tobacco control because,quite frankly,lives are at stake.”
The raft of new tobacco control measures that the government will start working through next year will also update the graphic health warnings on all tobacco products - including on individual cigarette sticks - and require health promotion inserts in each pack or pouch.
It is not yet known exactly when the overhauled graphic warnings will appear in Australia,but Canada also plans to print health warnings on every cigarette,with the words “poison in every puff” on individual smokes by the end of next year.
“The graphic warnings on cigarette packs that were once world leading have started to lose their impact. At best those warnings are ignored,and at worst they are mocked,” Butler said.