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World Lung Foundation Condemns Tobacco Industry Attempts to Halt Graphic Warnings and Plain Packaging in Australia

(New York, USA) - World Lung Foundation today condemned the action by Philip Morris in launching a legal action against the Australian government and commended that government’s strong rebuttal of the legal challenge.

Philip Morris is contesting that the Australian government’s introduction of plain packaging and graphic pack warnings for tobacco products violates the terms of a bilateral investment treaty between Hong Kong and Australia. However, the Australian government is standing firm in its commitment – and legal right – to introduce the legislation.

Peter Baldini, Chief Executive Officer, World Lung Foundation, commented: “This lawsuit is another cynical maneuver by the tobacco industry to bully a democratically elected government. By masking health information as a trade issue, Big Tobacco thinks it can not only reverse public health policy, but get paid for it too.

“We fully support the Australian government, which is well within its authority and within the purview of international law, to both warn consumers about the harms of tobacco use, and ban tobacco promotional tactics. Abundant research has shown that graphic pack warnings are highly effective in conveying the specific harms of tobacco use and, when used in combination with plain packaging, both help encourage smokers to quit and discourage youth from taking up smoking. The strength of this industry’s opposition is further evidence that that such measures actually work. Put more simply: if Big Tobacco is this worried, it must be good for public health.”

To support government implementation of graphic pack warnings, WLF has launched a new web resource for governments, NGOs and advocates planning to implement pictorial warnings on cigarette packs. The Tobacco Control Pack Warning Resource provides access to 52 effective, license-free images from eight countries. Government health officials can review information about each image, including the country of origin, licensing details and research available related to effectiveness.

Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of mortality in the world today, and is responsible for more than five million deaths each year—one in ten preventable deaths worldwide. The implementation of graphic pack warnings and plain packaging is one of the main commitments under the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) to which Australia is a party. It is one of the World Health Organization’s M-P-O-W-E-R (W=Warn) strategies to reduce tobacco consumption. MPOWER strategies are endorsed and promoted by the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use, of which World Lung Foundation is a principal partner.

About World Lung Foundation

World Lung Foundation was established in response to the global epidemic of lung disease, which kills 10 million people each year. The organization also works on maternal and infant mortality reduction initiatives. WLF improves global health by improving local health capacity, by supporting operational research, by developing public policy and by delivering public education. The organization’s areas of emphasis are tobacco control, maternal and infant mortality prevention, tuberculosis,, asthma, and child lung health. For more information, please visit worldlungfoundation.org

For more information, please contact Jorge Alday, World Lung Foundation, at +1.212.639.0070 or jalday@worldlungfoundation.org.