Stronger action required to curb massive health costs of smoking

The recent victory by the Australian government in pushing for “plain” packaging on cigarette packs came about as the Thai government is reforming its outdated tobacco legislation to make it more effective in curbing smoking.
“Plain” packaging is designed to prevent the producers from using marketing tools to attract new smokers, as well as trying to encourage old smokers to quit.
The debate over the Australian government’s strong move to remove the brand’s colours and logos from the cigarette packet is a telling example. The Thai government is in the process of revising measures to curb smoking. Moves should be balanced and effective in controlling smoking and not affect the rights of smokers to choose their products.
The government has an obligation to curb smoking because the illnesses caused by long-term smoking incapacitate and kill people. Smoking is one of the four factors causing Thais to suffer and die from illnesses such as lung cancer and heart disease. Smokers are not only less productive workers because of their poorer health. Fighting the diseases that heavy long-term smokers get is also a massive burden on public health operations.
The economic impact means the government has to set aside a considerable health budget to fight these illnesses. The government should use this money on other projects, which would be more productive.
The cigarettes in “plain” packets will go on the shelves in Australia from the first of December this year. While consumer groups Down Under welcome the decision allowing them to remove brand images from packets, the industry argued that plain packaging may have downsides, if it affects smokers’ capacity or right to be able to identify the brand that they prefer. Some smokers choose certain type of cigarettes because of qualities such as nicotine content in tobacco products. It is unclear how they will be able to tell various brands in plain packets.
In addition, there are questions whether this move might encourage the authorities to impose similar measures on other products that can be a health-risk such as alcohol, or even junk food, which could be argued to be a cause of obesity. These are both major health issues in Australia and the US.
Thailand has used graphic pictures on cigarette packets to warn people of the consequences of smoking, such as cancer, in a bid to scare off youngsters tempted to take a puff.
But the graphic warnings on packets have not helped decrease the number of smokers as much as government and health officials had hoped. Indeed, the Thai Ministry of Public Health has reported that teenagers are now starting to smoke at an earlier age – 17.4 years old on average last year, compared to 18.5 years on average in 2009.
The current legislation governing tobacco took effect from 1992. The Public Health Ministry is now conducting hearings to sound out public opinions on some proposed changes such as the age that a
person can legally smoke – whether it should be extended from the current 18 years old to 20 years. In addition, the government plans to prohibit the tobacco companies from engaging in corporate social responsibility activities to promote their brands.
But the new measures alone won’t help without strict enforcement by the authorities. For, even though the legal age for smoking is 18 years of age, many teenagers younger than 18 can be seen smoking in public places. And many youngsters can easily buy cigarettes from convenient stores.
Most importantly, consumers should be well-informed about the consequences of smoking. Youngsters should be educated and told about the downside of smoking, which can be fatal. The best way to prevent smoking is to give consumers knowledge and awareness. This has to be the most effective method to counter smoking.