By Lee Hyo-sik
The World Health Organization (WHO) is trying to conceal the Australian government's failure to reduce smoking in the nation through uniform packaging, tobacco companies argued Tuesday.
They said the WHO has been distorting the outcome of Australia's controversial Plain Packaging Act, which failed to slash cigarette sales in the country. Instead, the act has led to excessive regulation of intellectual property and trademark rights.
In December 2012, Australia's Department of Health enacted the regulation, which saw cigarette packaging unadorned with brand names or ads, instead replaced by prominent and graphic anti-smoking messages.
But the health department's regulatory review showed the branding ban has had no effect on the long-term decline in smoking rates over the years.
Despite having failed to prove the regulation's effectiveness, the department decided to rely on guesswork and mere speculation to convince its own and other governments that plain packaging was effective, according to Japan Tobacco International (JTI).
"Australia's health department has produced little more than shaky guesswork in its attempts to cover up the failure of plain packaging," JTI vice president Michiel Reerink said. "The WHO is citing Australia as an example as it tries to push other governments into unnecessary bans on the use of trademarks by legitimate tax-paying companies."
Reerink claimed that the WHO is orchestrating tobacco control lobbyists to travel the world on taxpayers' money in a bid to persuade governments that banning branding from tobacco packages is a worthwhile health priority.
"Governments around the world would be well-advised to cut through the noise the WHO is trying to drum up today. Instead, policymakers should look at the official data," the vice president said. "The ban on cigarette brands in Australia has deprived legitimate companies of their rights, and has handed a gift to the criminals who traffic in illegal and counterfeit cigarettes. But as a public health measure, plain packaging has failed."
The Australian government conducted a post-implementation review (PIR) on new regulations to assess whether they are appropriate and meet their aims.
It began gathering evidence for its review of the plain packaging act in March 2015 and was obliged to publish the PIR within three months.
But it delayed the release of the PIR as it struggled to find reliable evidence that the ban had met its aim, JTI and other cigarette makers said.
Last February, it published a weak and thoroughly unconvincing PIR, according to the companies, which argued that the report only guessed the ban might be "beginning to work" and might be effective "over time."
The World Health Organization (WHO) is trying to conceal the Australian government's failure to reduce smoking in the nation through uniform packaging, tobacco companies argued Tuesday.
They said the WHO has been distorting the outcome of Australia's controversial Plain Packaging Act, which failed to slash cigarette sales in the country. Instead, the act has led to excessive regulation of intellectual property and trademark rights.
In December 2012, Australia's Department of Health enacted the regulation, which saw cigarette packaging unadorned with brand names or ads, instead replaced by prominent and graphic anti-smoking messages.
But the health department's regulatory review showed the branding ban has had no effect on the long-term decline in smoking rates over the years.
Despite having failed to prove the regulation's effectiveness, the department decided to rely on guesswork and mere speculation to convince its own and other governments that plain packaging was effective, according to Japan Tobacco International (JTI).
"Australia's health department has produced little more than shaky guesswork in its attempts to cover up the failure of plain packaging," JTI vice president Michiel Reerink said. "The WHO is citing Australia as an example as it tries to push other governments into unnecessary bans on the use of trademarks by legitimate tax-paying companies."
Reerink claimed that the WHO is orchestrating tobacco control lobbyists to travel the world on taxpayers' money in a bid to persuade governments that banning branding from tobacco packages is a worthwhile health priority.
"Governments around the world would be well-advised to cut through the noise the WHO is trying to drum up today. Instead, policymakers should look at the official data," the vice president said. "The ban on cigarette brands in Australia has deprived legitimate companies of their rights, and has handed a gift to the criminals who traffic in illegal and counterfeit cigarettes. But as a public health measure, plain packaging has failed."
The Australian government conducted a post-implementation review (PIR) on new regulations to assess whether they are appropriate and meet their aims.
It began gathering evidence for its review of the plain packaging act in March 2015 and was obliged to publish the PIR within three months.
But it delayed the release of the PIR as it struggled to find reliable evidence that the ban had met its aim, JTI and other cigarette makers said.
Last February, it published a weak and thoroughly unconvincing PIR, according to the companies, which argued that the report only guessed the ban might be "beginning to work" and might be effective "over time."
