MISLEADING RESEARCH REINFORCES THE NEED FOR PLAIN TRUTHS

MEDIA RELEASE
March 19 2015

New research from the health lobby singing its own praises on its self-declared success of plain packaging not only ignores the available evidence, but is insulting to retailers burdened by the policy and the authorities struggling to curb the illegal tobacco trade, according to the Australasian Association of Convenience Stores (AACS).
AACS CEO Jeff Rogut said the regular drip-feeding of research designed to influence the public into believing plain packaging has worked is misleading and an example of passing the buck.
“It is unethical for a select few with a clear agenda to claim responsibility for the natural decline in smoking, a trend that has been occurring for decades, by attributing any positive health impacts to plain packaging,” Mr Rogut said.
“Actual up-to-date sales evidence proves that the volume of tobacco sold has remained constant since plain packaging was introduced, while cheaper tobacco products have soared in popularity and more and more people, including minors, can purchase tobacco from criminal sources more easily than ever before in our nation’s history.”
In Australian convenience stores, actual sales data from Aztec shows that the value of tobacco sales has increased since plain packaging, up 8.8% for the 12 months to January 2015. The sub-value tobacco segment continues to drive growth in value at +53.1% for the same period.
Other independent studies, including The Plain Truth about Plain Packaging: An Econometric Analysis of the Australian 2011 Tobacco Plain Packaging Act by the Australian National University, demonstrate that plain packaging has had a negligible and in some cases counterproductive impact on tobacco consumption.
“These are inarguable truths which are obviously inconvenient to those in the health lobby seemingly focused on patting themselves on the back,” Mr Rogut said.
“It is time for those health bodies genuinely interested in generating positive health outcomes regarding smoking to focus on the only proven measure: education. Taxpayers deserve no less.
“Instead of introducing measures with no evidential basis, Government should work with industry to help educate consumers on the dangers of smoking and promote the availability of information and products that encourage people to quit.
“Retailers, those at the coal face, can and must play a role instead of simply being left to solely bear the unintended consequences of ill-considered, short-sighted policy,” he said.
The AACS is not an arm of, nor does it lobby on behalf of, the tobacco industry. It is the peak body for the convenience industry in Australia, representing the interests of some 6,000 stores.
Mr Rogut said the claim that there has been no increase in the use of illegal cigarettes in the latest research from the Cancer Council was perhaps the most insulting to retailers.
“To claim there has been no increase in the use of illegal cigarettes since plain packaging is highly insulting to the customs officials and police seeking to crack down on the importation of illicit tobacco, seizing record amounts of illegal products in the current climate,” Mr Rogut said.
“It’s also grossly insulting to the many honest retailers out there selling legal tobacco products responsibly to adult consumers. These retailers are being robbed of legal sales.
“Repeated claims from the health lobby that plain packaging is working demonstrate a systematic ignorance of the available evidence and dismiss the very real impacts on small businesses resulting from the spiralling illicit market and the administrative burden of complying with this flawed policy,” he said.
Further information:
Jeff Rogut
Chief Executive Officer
Australasian Association of Convenience Stores
Ph: +61 467 873 789
Media enquiries:
Stephen Naylor
Wise McBaron Communication
Ph: +61 (2) 9279 4770