PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM TOBACCO: aims and endorsing  organisations

A common excuse for not doing more about tobacco is that we don't want to be a "Nanny State." 

Unfortunately, young people - including children - are still the tobacco industry's prime targets. At least 80% of smokers start before they turn 18, half before 16. They often seek to emulate young adults, and are influenced by smoking associated with films, TV, music, fashion or sport. 

The tobacco companies know this. Their own documents show their many strategies for recruiting "new smokers" - a euphemism for children. 

Tobacco companies often make that Mother of all Motherhood Statements, "We don't want children to smoke". But they lobby aggressively against evidence-based measures to reduce smoking among both adults and young people.   
Overseas: see Philip Morris opposes proven measures to reduce child smoking:  Tobacco-Free Kids release 15/7/05   ... and in Australia: see (2008)  Philip Morris scares retailers - and the truth about their arguments 

Look at the Tobacco Industry's record  on targeting children  - and some of their  marketing ploys  aimed at youth.

Words are cheap. 

Protecting Children from Tobacco, a national coalition of health, medical, child welfare, educational, church, social equity, community and research organisations, wants effective  action  to protect children from tobacco - and no "but(t)s". 

AIMS  of Protecting Children from Tobacco partners
NEWS - new moves, research and developments on protecting kids
RESEARCH EVIDENCE  for measures to protect children
RESOURCES - including ASH factsheets and video
STEPS IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION - national / world scoresheet
ILLEGAL SUPPLY TO CHILDREN

 

In and out of kids' faces: Australian convenience store 2006.... and supermarket 2010

See Tobacco in and out of sight in shops:  more pics

In Australia, there are 35,000 tobacco retail outlets - not just tobacconists but supermarkets, petrol stations, newsagents and newsstands, bottle shops, convenience stores and corner shops. Thousands of these still have tobacco in full view. 
Pricewaterhouse report 2005, "Sales of Cigarettes and Tobacco Products by Type of Retail Business"

Exposure to retail displays encourages children to smoke:  see  RESEARCH EVIDENCE

AIMS

The aims below are endorsed by  PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM TOBACCO :
over 40 children's, parents', teachers', health, welfare, church, social equity and research organisations.  ASH is among these.  

These organisations support legislation in all states and territories to ensure that:

- All tobacco products are out of sight in all retail outlets.
See tobacco displays in full view - and how many are being put OUT OF SIGHT!  
Why tobacco displays should be banned  with  No messy exceptions & exemptions

- No staff under 18 are allowed to be involved with selling tobacco.  
See  Why children should not sell tobacco

- There is comprehensive  licensing/registration of tobacco sellers. See  The case for licensing tobacco sellers      See  Licensing of tobacco retailers & wholesalers: Desirability and Best Practice Arrangements  (2002 report to Commonwealth Health Dept)    

- Cars carrying children are smokefree.  See background and factsheet on  smokefree cars

- Public places highly frequented by children, such as playgrounds, public swimming pools and food service areas, are smokefree.  See smokefree public places  

- There is a total ban on the sale of tobacco products targeted at youth.

- There is a total ban on the sale of tobacco from temporary outlets including music events and vending machines.  see pics and  ASH media release 4/8/07  

- Laws against sale of tobacco to children are strengthened, with increasing penalties for breaking them.

ASH Australia would also like to see... 

• Better funding of campaigns to reduce smoking
  Especially among children; but note that reducing smoking among young adults will help to achieve this, since teenagers emulate what they see young adults do or what they think young adults do. 
  
• Stronger action against tobacco promotion in films 
  Young people seeing smoking in films tend  to smoke more. Most top Australian movies show smoking. We want to reduce this impact by mandating "counter-ads" before any film with smoking. 
  See Cancer Council NSW page on  Smoking in movies
  
• An end to devious tobacco promotion under different names. 
  See some of Big Tobacco's latest dubious marketing ploys (and see our slideshow Tobacco marketing below the line)

NEWS

... FROM AUSTRALIA

Call for full protection of pregnant women from secondhand smoke after studies show foetal  harm
12/2/10: Health and child welfare groups have made an urgent call for dining and drinking areas and other workplaces to be made smokefree after a major international review of studies on impact of passive smoking on pregnancy confirmed it causes lower birthweight and increased birth abnormalities. The review of 76 articles, involving data from over 130,000 women, concluded that exposed women "have increased risks of infants with lower birthweight, congenital anomalies, longer lengths, and trends towards smaller head circumferences..."  See   ASH / Protecting Children from tobacco media release 12/2/10   and  review abstract    

Happy New Year: Tobacco out of sight in NSW and ACT shops
29/1/10: Tobacco products have gone out of sight in all retail outlets except tobacconists in the ACT, and "larger" retailers (more than 50 employees) in NSW. "Smaller" shops will follow by July 1, 2010.  See  NSWhealth info including legislation and factsheets  These reforms  weathered an aggressive tobacco industry scare campaign:  see  Philip Morris scares retailers - and the truth about their arguments        

• Contrast in NSW as some shops get tobacco out of sight... and some don't
  Check out these two contrasting pics (courtesy of NSMA) taken at Minto, on the outskirts of Sydney: first, good to see some larger retailers putting tobacco out of sight in advance of the 1/1/10 NSW deadline - like this  IGA supermarket !  Then on the other side of the responsibility coin is this CTC tobacconist with cigarettes on display right behind the big gumball machine - associating a deadly, addictive drug with sweet treats in full view of children.  A long delay before tobacconists must get rid of shockers like this.

The ACT government put tobacco out of sight in most shops by the end of 2009, and tobacconists must follow by end-2010 - the fastest deadline of any Australian state or territory. The new laws will also ban tobacco vending machines, flavoured/scented cigarettes, and remove tobacco from shopper reward schemes. The ACT is also considering submissions on protecting children from secondhand smoke in cars - most submissions very supportive. See  ACT Tobacco Act  and  Information on the changes from 28/2/09  See  Canberra Times report 1/3/09   Minister's earlier release on cars 2/2/09   ASH submission    Protecting Children from Tobacco coalition submission  

NT commits to key child protection measures
29/1/10: The NT government has confirmed that by January 2011all tobacco products must be out of sight in shops, and outdoor child-accessible eating and drinking areas must be smokefree by the same date. A consultative taskforce is working on the details.  ASH Australia

Victorian children safe from smoke in cars
27/1/10:  A new law to make cars carrying children under 18 smokefree has come into effect in Victoria - following similar laws taking effect in SA, Tasmania and NSW. The Tobacco Amendment (Protection of Children) Act 2009 will also put all tobacco products out of sight in shops from Jan 2011; end sales of cigarettes from temporary outlets - e.g. race days, music festivals; and ban tobacco products targeting young people.   See  the bill at introduction    See  Victorian government strategy

ACT dining and drinking areas to be smokefree
8/12/09: The ACT Assembly has passed new laws making all public eating and drinking areas 100% smokefree, however enclosed or otherwise, by the end of 2010. Children's events will also be smokefree.    See  ABC News report 8/12/09 

Study of smoke harm for children shows urgency of smokefree public places 
24/11/09: A study showing secondhand smoke harm to blood vessels of toddlers shows why we need public places - especially outdoor dining areas - 100% smokefree. Protecting Children from Tobacco has urged all Australian jurisdiction to follow Queensland's example.  See 
Protecting Children from Tobacco media release 24/11/09 

Queensland protects children from smoke in cars
30/10/09: Cars carrying children under 16 will be smokefree by law from January 1, 2010 - and the state government will support local councils making shopping centres and bus stops smokefree.  See  Brisbane Times report 30/10/09     See  Queensland tobacco laws

ACT moves for smokefree outdoor eating/drinking and underage events

15/10/09: ACT Health Minister Katy Gallagher has introduced a bill to make all public eating and drinking places smokefree by December 1 2010, as well as underage events of whatever enclosure. See  ACT government media release 15/10/09   

WA tobacco act becomes law       See  WA bill and explanation  under T:  "Tobacco...2008"

22/9/09:  A new law to reform Western Australia's smokefree and anti-tobacco promotion laws has become law, to take effect in September 2010. The new Act protects children, employees and public health by:

• Ending tobacco display in shops;

• Making cars carrying children under 17 smokefree;

• Making children's playgrounds and patrolled beaches smokefree;

• Making unlicensed al fresco dining areas, and 50% of licensed al frescoes, smokefree; and

• Strengthening rights of employees to refuse to work in smoking areas.

Tobacco's new discount and promotion push
4/7/09: Tobacco companies are pushing new discount offers and inducing retailers to promote them aggressively. Health groups are calling for a substantial and overdue tax increase and closing loopholes to stop the new drive to hook young smokers.  See  ASH media release 4/7/09  

Liberals' Abbott told: protecting children from smoke not "trivial"
2/7/09: the Protecting Children from Tobacco coalition has expressed strong concern over remarks by Federal Opposition frontbencher Tony Abbott that laws to protect children from secondhand smoke in cars are "trivial". PCFT has asked for clarification and reassurance by Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull that the views are not shared by the party's leaders.  See  PCFT coalition media release 2/7/09  and  ABC report of Abbott remarks 

Wagga beats BAT to protect children, workers 

31/3/09: Wagga Wagga City Council (NSW) has been applauded for its decision to go ahead with smokefree playgrounds and al fresco dining areas in the face of aggressive tobacco industry interference. See  ASH media release 31/3/09    ASH wrote to Wagga Councillors answering misleading lobbying by tobacco giant British American Tobacco Australia. BATA tried to derail the smokefree al fresco move by wrongly claiming it would hurt business and was opposed by tobacco control experts, and that BATA's Butt Littering Trust offered "evidence-based" alternatives.  See   ASH media release 27/11/08       See   excerpts from BATA letter and ASH response 

Meanwhile community support continues to soar for smokefree dining.  See NSW survey findings in  Aust & NZ Journal of Public Health article

Tobacco industry's tricky fashion ploy
15/12/08: Cigarettes were sold in upmarket fashion and hair outlets in an Imperial Tobacco campaign to lure young people into smoking. The promotion was later withdrawn after public protests.  See  Sunday Mail, SA 14/12/08 

QANTAS stops pushing tobacco
29/10/08: Following a campaign by ASH and other concerned groups and individuals, QANTAS has confirmed it has stopped a trial promotion of duty-free cigarettes on in-flight trolleys in view of children. We congratulate QANTAS for its responsible decision. See earlier  ASH media release

NT flags tobacco out of sight in shops and sellers licensed
18/7/08: The Northern Territory government is proposing to ban smoking indoors in pubs, and also to put tobacco out of sight in shops by January 2010 and license sellers.  See  Minister Chris Burns media release 18/7/08 

Ministers agree on national ban of fruity cigarettes by end of 2009
23/5/08: Australian Health Ministers at the Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy have agreed that all states and territories will enact legislation to prohibit the sale of fruit- and confectionery-flavoured cigarettes by December 2009.  MCDS communique 23/5/08

Cigarettes keep selling - because they're still in our faces
5/3/08: Tobacco is top of the grocery sales lists, occupying the No. 1 spot and 6 of the top 7. The latest Nielsen survey shows how hard it is to reduce smoking rates while cigarettes are promoted at such high visibility.   See  ASH media release 5/3/08  

Study says displays undermine quitting... as Tas sets 3-year deadline
22/11/07: A study has shown quit attempts are undermined by tobacco displays in shops - as Tasmania's parliament moves to end displays by February 2011.   See  ASH / Protecting Children for Tobacco media release 22/11/07 

Call for generic (plain) packaging
August 2007: A compelling case is being made for plain packaging of tobacco.   See 2007  report with illustrations

.... FROM OVERSEAS

Ireland puts tobacco out of sight in shops      Details at  ASH Ireland 
1/7/09: The Republic of Ireland has put tobacco out of sight at retail outletspoint of sale tobacco along with other measures to protect children including: introduction of a closed container / dispenser provision; tighter controls on the location and operation of tobacco vending machines; and introduction of a retail register for tobacco retailers. See below for detail of other countries that have taken this step.

NZ government caves in to retailer pressure
24/2/09:  The New Zealand government has accepted flawed retailer arguments and backed away from putting tobacco products out of sights in shops. Prime Minister John Key says there's "no evidence" the move would save lives, and retailers have convinced him it would cost them too much. See NZPA / Melbourne Age report 24/2/09    "No evidence"??? See latest  RESEARCH EVIDENCE   
See independent NZ  study abstract  showing retailer arguments "contradictory, flawed, unsupported by evidence"

BAT accused of targeting African children
July 2008: Check this BBC documentaryon British American Tobacco targeting African children with tobacco promotion. Is this a socially responsible corporate citizen?  "We don't want children to smoke" (now where have we heard that before?) - see  BAT response

UK doctors urge governments to protect children
6/7/08: The British Medical Association has urged UK governments to crack down on promotion of tobacco to children in retail, films and other entertainment. The BMA proposes a total out-of-sight policy for tobacco in shops and proactive measures to counter positive images of smoking.     See  BMA release 6/7/08 with link to full report 

Scotland plans smokefree future including protecting children
22/5/08: Displays of cigarettes in shops are set to become a thing of the past as part of the Scottish Government's continuing drive to stop smoking and tobacco promotion to children. See  Scottish government plan    Proposals include legislating to restrict display of tobacco products at points of sale; updating statutory controls on tobacco sales, with a view to introducing licensing; banning mini-packs and reducing sales to youth from vending machines; cracking down on smuggled and counterfeit cigarettes; and considering moves towards plain packaging of cigarettes.

Call for full protection of pregnant women from secondhand smoke after studies show foetal  harm
12/2/10: Health and child welfare groups have made an urgent call for dining and drinking areas and other workplaces to be made smokefree after a major international review of studies on impact of passive smoking on pregnancy confirmed it causes lower birthweight and increased birth abnormalities. The review of 76 articles, involving data from over 130,000 women, concluded that exposed women "have increased risks of infants with lower birthweight, congenital anomalies, longer lengths, and trends towards smaller head circumferences..."  See   ASH / Protecting Children from tobacco media release 12/2/10   and  review abstract    

Babies' exposure boosts adult emphysema risk
25/11/09: Prenatal and postnatal exposure of babies to secondhand smoke increases their risk of emphysema as adults, says a study of 1700 non-smokers in the American Journal of Epidemiology.  See  study abstract 

Secondhand exposure doubles children's lung cancer risk
December 2009:  Secondhand smoke exposure during childhood is associated with a more than doubled lung cancer risk among never smokers, says a study in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention.  See  study abstract

Secondhand smoke doubles and worsens chronic rhinosinusitis
Nov-Dec 2009: Childhood or current exposure to secondhand smoke more than doubles risk of chronic rhinosinusitis, suggests a Johns Hopkins University study in the American Journal of Rhinology and Allergy. Severity of the disease, which can causes nasal blockage, discharge and headaches, may also be worsened.  See  study abstract

Study of smoke harm for children shows urgency of smokefree public places 
24/11/09: A study showing secondhand smoke harm to blood vessels of toddlers shows why we need public places - especially outdoor dining areas - 100% smokefree.  See 
Protecting Children from Tobacco media release 24/11/09  

Secondhand smoke exposure increases preschoolers' behaviour problems
29/9/09: A survey of parents of over 5000 preschool-aged children in Bavaria, Germany, shows that exposure to secondhand smoke at home increases the reported incidence of hyperactivity/inattentiveness behaviour problems - more than doubling the incidence in children most exposed. The authors conclude that "Prevention of behavioural problems may be a further reason to target secondhand tobacco smoke exposure in children."  Twardella et al (2009) in Acta Paediatrica - see study abstract

Exposure to shop display increases youth smoking  
9/10/09: A study in Tobacco Control  shows greater exposure to tobacco displays at point of sale is linked with increased youth smoking. The NZ study of 28,000 students aged 14-15 found youth exposure to shop displays " strongly associated" with starting and continuing smoking. Its authors recommend that "point of sale displays should be included as a part of a comprehensive ban on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship."   Paynter et al, doi:10.1136/tc.2008.027482  Tobacco Control 2009;18;268-274  See  full study pdf 

Aims and endorsing organisations

RESOURCES                        

FACTSHEETS on Protecting Children from Tobacco: 
 
Brief 2-page  Summary  of the retail display issue
Why tobacco displays should be banned
The truth about retailer claims  misleading our governments
Leading adman says: Product display is advertising
No exceptions, no exemptions
Why children should not sell tobacco
The case for licensing tobacco sellers
Kids in smoky cars

See also our 2006 factsheet Tobacco Facts on retail display


Tobacco displays: mini-documentary
The Cancer Society of New Zealand has recently released a mini-doco on the issue of tobacco displays. View  trailer and link to full version

Tear Down the Walls  
30/4/08 comment piece in the Ottawa Citizen makes a very good, reasoned analysis of why tobacco display "powerwalls" have so much impact on kids and why they should be removed.   See  the article 

Tear Down the Wall - Kiwi kids' vid
See this effective "racetrack" video made by New Zealand children supporting the campaign to "Tear Down the Walls" ("powerwalls" of tobacco shop displays).  See the YouTube video 

• Iceland (in effect from 2001, the first country)

• Thailand (in effect)

• Republic of Ireland (in effect)

• Canada: 12 provinces (Saskatchewan was the first) 

• Australia: 5 jurisdictions (Tasmania, NSW, ACT, Victoria, WA) plus NT expected by Jan.2011

Source:  ASH Australia, Canadian Cancer Society

Page last updated 12/2/10