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Plain Packaging Deterring Smokers: Study Source from: Newswire 07/23/2013  A ban on branded tobacco packaging in Australia has more smokers thinking of quitting, with the products now less appealing, a study has found. Australia introduced plain packaging from October last year, and New Zealand is set to follow suit with legislation to be introduced later this year. However, the government is waiting to see how challenges to Australia's law play out in court and at the World Trade Organisation, before passing the law - likely to happen next year. A study of the impacts of Australia's law says there is an early indication that plain packaging is associated with lower smoking appeal and more urgency to quit among adult smokers. Smokers who were smoking from plain packs were more likely to perceive their tobacco as lower quality, and they reported lower satisfaction than those smoking from branded packs. They were also more likely to think about and prioritise quitting - and, perhaps surprisingly, more likely to support the plain packaging policy. The study of smokers in the state of Victoria was carried out in November 2012, with funding from Quit Victoria, and was published in the British Medical Journal this week. New Zealand anti-smoking lobby group Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) says the study is positive news for plain packaging moves. Spokesman Michael Colhoun says more time is needed to see how many smokers quit as a result of the policy, and its impact on preventing people starting smoking. "Nobody expects the policy to make large numbers of smokers quit overnight," he told NZ Newswire. "There isn't one policy you can do to reduce smoking - you can use a raft of measures together, tax increases are a good one as well, but even tax increases alone aren't actually the one thing you can do to reduce smoking." Tuesday also marks one year since New Zealand's ban on displaying tobacco products in stores came into effect. Related Updates |