ID :
119481
Fri, 04/30/2010 - 14:54
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/119481
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AUSTRALIA TO INCREASE CIGARETTE TAX BY 25 PCT
MELBOURNE, April 30 (Bernama) -- Australia will increase cigarette tax by 25 per cent from midnight tonight as part of the government's crackdown on smoking.
The government will also force tobacco companies to use plain packaging from
July 1, 2012.
The changes will cut tobacco consumption by six per cent and the number of
smokers by two or three per cent -- about 87,000 Australians.
The tax increase will mean an increase of about A$2.16 for a pack of 30, raising
the cost to about A$17.95.
Raising the tobacco excise will generate an extra A$5 billion over four years
and the money "will be directly invested in hospitals".
Internet advertising of cigarettes will also be restricted, and an extra A$27.8
million will be spent on anti-smoking campaigns.
New legislation will prohibit logos, brand imagery, colours, and promotional
text other than brand and product names in standard colour, position, font style
and size.
"The new branding for cigarettes will be the most hardline regime in the world
and cigarette companies will hate it," Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told the nation
Thursday.
A spokeswoman for Imperial Tobacco Australia said the company was preparing to
"legally" fight the Government over the proposed changes.
"Introducing plain packaging just takes away the ability of a consumer to
identify our brand from another brand -- and that's of value to us.
"It really affects the value of our business as a commercial enterprise and we
will fight to support protecting our international property rights," she told
ABC Radio.
-- BERNAMA
The government will also force tobacco companies to use plain packaging from
July 1, 2012.
The changes will cut tobacco consumption by six per cent and the number of
smokers by two or three per cent -- about 87,000 Australians.
The tax increase will mean an increase of about A$2.16 for a pack of 30, raising
the cost to about A$17.95.
Raising the tobacco excise will generate an extra A$5 billion over four years
and the money "will be directly invested in hospitals".
Internet advertising of cigarettes will also be restricted, and an extra A$27.8
million will be spent on anti-smoking campaigns.
New legislation will prohibit logos, brand imagery, colours, and promotional
text other than brand and product names in standard colour, position, font style
and size.
"The new branding for cigarettes will be the most hardline regime in the world
and cigarette companies will hate it," Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told the nation
Thursday.
A spokeswoman for Imperial Tobacco Australia said the company was preparing to
"legally" fight the Government over the proposed changes.
"Introducing plain packaging just takes away the ability of a consumer to
identify our brand from another brand -- and that's of value to us.
"It really affects the value of our business as a commercial enterprise and we
will fight to support protecting our international property rights," she told
ABC Radio.
-- BERNAMA
