Public consultation on Plain Packaging of Tobacco Products
In April 2010 the Australian Government announced that, in a world first, all tobacco products sold in Australia would be required to be sold in plain packaging by 1 July 2012. Following Government amendments, the Tobacco Plain Packaging Act 2011 will require that all tobacco products sold in Australia are in plain packaging by 1 December 2012.
The Government’s legislation on plain packaging aims to prevent tobacco advertising and/or promotion on tobacco product packaging in order to:
- reduce the attractiveness and appeal of tobacco products to consumers, particularly young people;
- increase the noticeability and effectiveness of mandated health warnings;
- reduce the ability of the tobacco product packaging to mislead consumers about the harms of smoking; and
- through the achievement of these objectives in the long term, as part of a comprehensive suite of tobacco control measures, contribute to efforts to reduce smoking rates.
The Tobacco Plain Packaging Act 2011 and associated Trade Marks Amendment (Tobacco Plain Packaging) Act 2011 received Royal Assent on 1 December 2011.
Public consultation on Plain Packaging of Cigarette Products
To enable full stakeholder and community engagement in the process, the exposure draft of the Tobacco Plain Packaging Bill 2011 and the Consultation Paper were released for public comment from 7 April 2011 to 6 June 2011. The Consultation Paper outlined the Government’s approach to implementing plain packaging, its response to design testing and targeted consultations, and provided an explanation of the key provisions of the exposure draft Tobacco Plain Packaging Bill 2011.
Consultation Paper and the submissions received for consultation on plain packaging of cigarette productsPublic consultation on Plain Packaging of Non-Cigarette Tobacco Products
The Government conducted a further consultation on the detail of the proposed design features for the plain packaging of non-cigarette tobacco products from 30 September 2011 to 28 October 2011. The second consultation paper outlines the Government’s proposed approach to implementing plain packaging for non-cigarette tobacco products.
Consultation Paper and the submissions received for the consultation on plain packaging of non-cigarette tobacco productsConsultation on Regulations for non-cigarette tobacco products
The Tobacco Plain Packaging Regulations 2011 as they relate to cigarettes were approved by the Executive Council on 7 December 2011, and are available from http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/F2011L02644.
The draft Tobacco Plain Packaging Regulations 2011 incorporating requirements for non-cigarette tobacco products were released for public comment from 23 December 2011 to 20 January 2012. The draft Regulations set out additional specifications for the appearance and retail packaging of non-cigarette tobacco products, such as cigars and roll-your-own tobacco.
Draft regulations and the submissions received for the consultation on Regulations for non-cigarette tobacco productsFollowing the completion of this consultation, the Regulations for non-cigarette tobacco products will be finalised for consideration by the Executive Council.
What's happening
Changes to the sale of tobacco products
The Tobacco Plain Packaging Information Kit provides practical information on the responsibilities and obligations of retailers and other suppliers of tobacco products under the new Tobacco Plain Packaging Act 2011.
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