Four of Australia's leading tobacco experts have united in a landmark call to action today – suggesting Australia slash the number of cigarette retailers to help drive down smoking rates, while also tackling illicit tobacco.
The peer-reviewed commentary, published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, was written by Ms Anita Dessaix, Director, Prevention and Advocacy, Cancer Council NSW; Associate Professor Raglan Maddox, Australian National University; Dr Emily Stone, Respiratory Physician, St Vincents Healthcare and Professor Becky Freeman, University of Sydney.
Professor Freeman says it's time for all Governments to reconsider whether a product that kills most of its users should be so vastly available.
"Fewer than 1 in 10 Australians smoke daily, yet cigarettes are sold on just about every street corner – in tobacconists, petrol stations, convenience stores and our local grocery shops. Widespread availability is a key part of the tobacco industry's marketing strategy. Australia's tobacco market is oversupplied, under-regulated, and out of step with community expectations.
"Local communities, particularly parents, are sick of seeing tobacconists pop up everywhere. It's time to shut the shops and cut the number of stores allowed to profit from this harmful product."
Dr Stone says that all Australians need to remember that all tobacco, regardless of whether it is illicit or legal, is lethal.
"Headlines about illicit tobacco are distracting us from the harsh truth - smoking still causes around 66 Australian deaths every day. It's a leading cause of cancer, heart disease, lung disease, and numerous other health conditions. It's unacceptable that tobacco is widely available. Australia's priority must be to continue drive down smoking rates, provide evidence-based support for smokers to quit, and protect children and teens from nicotine addiction."
Over the last two years several Australian states have introduced tobacco licensing schemes and harsh penalties for those who break the rules says Ms Dessaix.
"The sale of illegal tobacco undermines decades of public health progress. New licensing schemes offer a unique opportunity for Governments to change where this lethal product is allowed to be sold," Ms Dessaix says.
"We need all levels of Government to apply a gold standard of tobacco sales regulation. Reducing the number of retailers licensed to sell tobacco products will make monitoring and enforcement of illegal tobacco sales easier, while also helping to further lower smoking rates. It's a win-win solution," she added.
"With declining smoking prevalence nationwide, increasing regulation, and growing community calls for change, retailers need to reassess whether they wish to continue stocking tobacco and selling a product that kills users and has no future."
Associate Prof Raglan Maddox adds that reducing retail availability is a well-recognised tobacco control strategy.
"Australians understand that cigarettes kill," Assoc Prof Maddox says.
"Most Australians don't want to smoke and don't want younger generations to become addicted. Most people who smoke want to quit, but that is harder when retailers are making cheap cigarettes easily available on every street corner. Reducing the number of retailers exploiting communities is the next logical step for Australia's tobacco control journey."
Reflecting on the paper, Adjunct Prof Terry Slevin, CEO, Public Health Association of Australia, says all levels of government should listen to the evidence and voices of public health experts, and not let industry or criminals influence tobacco decisions.
"It's been 75 years since historic research showed that tobacco causes cancer," he says.
"I have no sympathy for tobacco retailers, criminals, or the industry who continue to sell this addictive product, they are knowingly profiting from the predictable death of their customers.
"Australia is a tobacco control success story. We've slashed smoking rates and are world leader for this. This has been achieved in the face of aggressive and heavily funded opposition from the tobacco industry, every step of the way.
"We must continue to reduce the tobacco market by reducing smoking rates, which will reduce the preventable health carnage. This will also shrink the illicit market. Let's aim for a future where Australians are free from tobacco- and nicotine- addiction."
