Call for ban on fruit-flavoured cigarettes

New brands attractive to teens, say health leaders

 

23/5/05:  ASH Australia and other health groups have called on the Federal Government to ban the sale of fruit-flavoured cigarettes, saying the new brands are likely to influence teenagers to smoke. 

A new brand of cigarette called “DJ Mix”, imported from Hong Kong and distributed in Australia by the Sydney-based Trojan Tobacco Company, features a range of fruit flavours.

The brand has been criticised for appealing to youthful tastes and image at a time when the community has expressed a strong wish to see youth smoking rates reduced.

Says Anne Jones, Chief Executive of ASH Australia:

“It’s well known that teenagers model their behaviour on that of young adults, especially those they see as cool or hip. These cigarettes are intended to create just that image – the use of dance club terms ‘DJ’ and ‘Mix’ and the colourful packaging will be attractive to them, as will the fruit flavours.

“There is concern that smoking rates among teenage girls and young women, in particular, remain high – at an age when smoking can cause serious harm to their sexual and reproductive capacities as well as foetal harm if they are pregnant.

“These cigarettes are really promoting smoking as hip and fashionable to young people – and by emulation, to teenagers.

“We urge the government to consider legislating if necessary to ban the importation of these cigarettes as they are against spirit of the tobacco advertising laws.” 

The Federal Parliamentary Secretary on Health, Christopher Pyne MP, told Ten News on May 23 there was nothing the Federal Government could do to stop the fruity cigs - that it was up to state and territory governments to act against them.  

But the federal government banned smokeless tobacco products in 1989 by amending the Trade Practices Act 1974. Fruit flavoured cigarettes could also be banned by a similar amendment.