May 22, 2016

Tala Pasifika urges Government to follow UK lead on plain packaging

Tala Pasifika says other countries have now leaped ahead of New Zealand on anti-smoking measures.

Tala Pasifika Manager, Edward Cowley, says Kiwi smokefree efforts have languished.

“To achieve the Government’s goal of a smokefree New Zealand by 2025, it pledged – now over three years ago – to introduce plain packaging for tobacco. However, we still haven’t seen any further action on this issue.

“At the start of this year, the Government said the law would progress, but so far this has not been the case.

“Pacific people are especially attracted to colourful images and plain packaging will remove the visual appeal of tobacco brands," Mr Cowley says.

The United Kingdom and France were the latest countries to introduce, last week, plain packaging for tobacco products, in a bid to reduce the appeal of tobacco.

The Bill to introduce plain packaging for tobacco in New Zealand has been stalled at Parliament, since the Health Select Committee considered it in 2014.

The Government has cited concern from ongoing legal cases between tobacco companies and the Australian Government. Australia was the first country to introduce plain packaging in 2012. Last week, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague warned tobacco giant Philip Morris that their attempt to sue Australia over its plain packaging laws was "an abuse of rights".

Tala Pasifika is New Zealand's largest collective voice on Pacific tobacco control.

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