Tobacco Industry Takes a Hit Due to Plain Packaging

Bangalore: Tobacco usage around the world causes over 5 million deaths every year and the current numbers show that it will cause over 8 million deaths annually by 2030, as per a fact sheet. The health department and organizations worldwide have incorporated ways to cut down on the number of smokers everywhere. This has led to plain packaging, which stands for cigarette packs which are stripped of all the distinctive elements, like the colors, logo and lettering of the product and switching them with a basic package which includes a mandate government warning, as reported by Simon Chapman, for The Conversation.

In 2012, Australia become the first country to introduce plain packaging of cigarettes, New Zealand recently announced it and four other nations including India is considering its application. With these recent developments things look pretty ugly for the tobacco industry.

There have been many changes in tobacco usage over the years, thirty five years ago about 45 percent of men and 30 percent of women smoked in Australia. The number now has come down to 16.4 percent of men and 13.9 percent of women who smoke daily.

Even the teenage smoking rate has gone down; it was 28 percent for17 year old boys and 34 percent for girls who smoked in 1996. Now it’s 16 percent boys and 13 percent girls in Australia.

Also Read: India, Lowest Consumer of Cigarettes Annually