GETTING Australians to quit smoking is proving to be hard work. But to its credit, the NSW Government is continuing to introduce laws to marginalise an expensive and harmful habit.
The latest batch of rules, due to be enacted later this year, will make it illegal for adults to smoke in cars where children under 16 are present and will phase out advertising displays in shops. Tobacco vending machines will be restricted to pubs and clubs, will be banned from carrying advertisements and will accept only tokens which patrons will have to buy from the bar.
Eliminating point of sale displays is designed to reduce impulse buying of tobacco products, which research suggests accounts for 27 per cent of cigarette sales and mostly affects young people and "reformed" smokers still struggling to quit. Frank Sartor tried to introduce the law in 2004 when he was minister responsible for cancer services, but intense lobbying by retailers and the tobacco industry has been credited with stalling the proposal until now.
As the Premier, Morris Iemma, observed this week, tobacco companies need to recruit young people to the habit if their business is to survive. The new laws, when they finally come into force across all retail outlets, will help shut off the tobacco industry's supply of young new smokers. The laws are expected to be passed later this year and retailers have between six months and a year to comply.
Stamping out smoking in cars containing children is a long-overdue move. It is no longer in doubt that second-hand tobacco smoke is potentially harmful to the health of those forced to breathe it, yet some parents and other adults persist in exposing children to the hazard in the confined spaces of vehicles. When the new laws come into force, such irresponsible behaviour will risk a $250 fine.
The NSW Government deserves praise for its actions, however belated. Only a handful of other countries including Thailand, Iceland and parts of Canada have enacted similarly strong laws. Mr Iemma's cabinet has set an example for other states to follow.
The anti-smoking lobby has called for the Federal Government to enact its own new legislation to restrict tobacco products to generic packaging and to crank up tobacco taxes yet again. Little by little the tobacco industry in Australia is being starved of opportunities to market its damaging goods. The industry will fight to the last gasp, but the NSW laws are another nail in its slowly closing coffin.
Livesites lives on
LIVESITES has been one of the most engaging cultural programs seen in Newcastle in recent memory. During the past four years it has created an impressive array of events, attracting visitors and adding a much-needed extra dimension to the city's nightlife. Thanks to substantial grants from Newcastle City Council and the Hunter Development Corporation Livesites is set to continue on a more secure footing. If future programs are half as good as those produced over the past few years the money will be very well invested.
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