|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
| Back to Media Releases index |
A
coalition of health, medical, child welfare, church, social equity,
indigenous and other organisations has called on all Australian
governments to stand up to tobacco industry misinformation and push
ahead with putting tobacco out of sight in all retail outlets. The
41-member Protecting Children from Tobacco (PCT) coalition* has
pointed to new research showing exposure of children to retail tobacco
displays and other advertising raises their risk of smoking uptake. The
study** in Pediatrics journal
of over 1600 children aged 11-14 over two years shows exposure to
retail advertising raises their risk of smoking initiation by around
60%. Says
Stafford Sanders, Co-ordinator of PCT: “This gives the lie to
continued efforts by tobacco retailers to undermine this
evidence-based measure where it’s been adopted, and to deter
governments yet to adopt it from doing so. “The
Pediatrics study gives the lie to assertions that out-of-sight
policies are ineffective, especially in the context of a comprehensive
approach. It confirms previous research showing a definite link
between children’s view of smoking and their exposure to
‘powerwalls’ of tobacco products in shops. “And
this new study goes further, showing a clear impact over time of
retail advertising - including packet displays – on actual child
smoking uptake. “This
surely is the last nail in the coffin of the tobacco retailers’
claim that retail display bans don’t reduce youth smoking. “Their
other claims that out-of-sight tobacco has increased illicit trade and
caused devastating costs to small businesses have also been refuted by
independent worldwide research evidence.*** “We
call on governments that have adopted this policy to stand firm
against these scare tactics and to ensure that all retailers are
included in the requirements; and we urge jurisdictions that have yet
to adopt an out-of-sight policy to bring it into effect as soon as
possible and with no exemptions.” **
Study abstract at
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/peds.2009-3021v1 ***
See Top Ten Myths Against Out-of-Sight Tobacco
at
www.ashaust.org.au/lv4/POSretailclaims.doc
Comment
/ media info:
|
|
Page last updated 23/7/10 |
|
