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“
The voluntary
initiative by Coles in Tasmania is described as a national first with
enormous capacity to bring about lasting public health benefits.
“Moving tobacco out
of sight will mean children are not constantly exposed to displays of
a potentially lethal product every time they go into a shop”, says
the Chair of Smokefree Tasmania Kathy Barnsley. ASH Australia is
urging all chain stores and other states to take up this initiative
ahead of government plans to further restrict tobacco displays by
requiring an out of sight policy for all retail outlets.
The benefits of an
out of sight tobacco policy include:
“Smokers will still
have access to their products without being inconvenienced as research
shows that over 80% of smokers already know their brand preference and
are not influenced by displays”, says Anne Jones, CEO of ASH
Australia. Moving tobacco
displays out of sight is good news for families, says ASH, as ending
tobacco visibility in
shops is expected to reduce the estimated 40,000 children who take up
smoking each year in Australia. Health groups have
been calling for government legislation to end tobacco displays in
shops for several years as part of a comprehensive strategy to reduce
the 19,000 deaths and $21b in social costs caused each year by
smoking. Comment: Media inquiries: Stafford Sanders ph. (02) 9334-1823 m. 0412-070-194 |
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Page last updated 7/4/05 |
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