AMA Victoria lobbying on smoking pays off

Seeing adults smoking in cars with children on board, or being confronted with point-of-sale advertising for cigarettes at your local newsagency will soon be a thing of the past following the introduction of a new tobacco strategy from the Government.

Following extensive lobbying by AMA Victoria, the Minister for Health, Daniel Andrews, announced just before Christmas the Victorian Tobacco Control Strategy 2008-2013.

AMA Victoria has welcomed the announcement.

The government’s new five year plan aims to:

• reduce smoking among adults by 20 per cent
• reduce smoking among pregnant women by 50 per cent, and
• reduce smoking among Aboriginal and other high prevalence groups by at least 20 per cent.

Key actions of the Strategy include:

• banning smoking in cars carrying children under the age of 18 from 1 January 2010
• banning tobacco point-of-sale displays in retail outlets by 1 January 2011
• reviewing penalties and tougher enforcement of the Tobacco Act
• banning the sale of cigarettes at temporary outlets on 1 January 2010
• provide the Minister for Health with power to ban youth-orientated tobacco products and packaging, such as fruit-flavoured cigarettes
• ensuring Government school grounds are smoke free by 1 July 2009, and
• boosting services to help smokers quit, focusing on pregnant women, Aboriginals and other high-risk groups.

AMA Victoria called for these actions in its submission to the strategy. AMA Victoria President Dr Doug Travis also outlined AMA Victoria’s position at meetings with the Minister in February and June.

It was also active in the media advocating further tobacco reforms during 2008.

Over the last 20 years, adult smoking prevalence in Victoria has reduced from 34 per cent to 17 per cent. However, smoking remains the leading avoidable cause of many cancers, respiratory, cardiovascular and other diseases. In Victoria, smoking claims approximately 4,000 lives, causes 80 per cent of lung cancer cases and costs $5 billion every year.

Dr Travis welcomed the strategy as an important step towards reducing the burden of ill health, the cost of smoking to the Victorian community and smoking rates among Victorians.
“Tobacco smoking is the largest single preventable cause of death and disease in Australia. We need to send a clear message that smoking is no longer viewed as normal, but is regarded as unhealthy and unnecessary.”

He added, “the only benefits of smoking are addiction, disease and death.”