nov 10, 2014 0630 pm by anthony rivas@anthorivasphoto illustration of new mandatory packaging for cigarettes sold in australia november 29, 2012. australia&39s new stringent antitobacco laws, the most draconian in the world, strips packs of all branding, bright colours and logos, leaving only the name printed in identical small font. photo taken november 29, 2012. reuterstim wimbornstep into your local minimarket or pharmacy not cvs, though, and you&rsquore very likely to find a whole wall&rsquos worth of colorfully packaged cigarettes. every brand has its own designs ones that are meant to attract smokers. even though regulators around the world have attempted to change them, adding graphic images and warnings, some evidence suggests it&rsquos not enough &mdash smokers may actually see the inclusion of images as transparency on the part of tobacco companies. instead, they should look at policy in australia, because it seems to be working.since december 2012, cigarettes sold in australia have been held in plain packaging consisting of a graphic image and the number to a quit smoking hotline. brand names, meanwhile, were relegated to a small font at the center of a brown box on the bottom of the package. although the government was hit with lawsuits from various tobacco companies, public health groups lauded the policy change as progressive, and overall, a smart move toward ending cigarette addiction.a new study shows that australian smokers were actually pretty happy with the change. taking data from the australian arm of the international tobacco control four country survey, researchers from the uk, canada, the u.s., and, obviously, australia, found that support for plain packaging increased from 28.2 percent before they were introduced to 49 percent after. by comparison, only 34.7 percent of smokers were against the packaging.out of 6,348 people surveyed, those who were more intent on quitting were also more likely to be supportive of the plain packaging. the same went for those who felt they were in danger of smokingrelated illness and those who smoked less often. with this in mind, it shouldn&rsquot come as a surprise that those who were less conscious of the dangers of smoking, as well as those who smoked more often were less supportive of the new packs. perhaps all they need is a little more education about smoking&rsquos effects to change their stances.this support translated into a surge in quit smoking hotline calls. within the first month of implementing the new package rules, there was a 78 percent increase in territorial quitsmoking hotlines. in new south wales and the australian capital territory alone, calls increased from 363 a week to 651, according to a study from january. and the best part, the packaging was way more effective than simply showing graphic images increases in call volume lasted for 43 weeks with the plain packs as opposed to 20 weeks with the graphicimage packs.since australia passed its law, other governments, such as the uk&rsquos, france&rsquos, and canada&rsquos have planned to begin plain packaging. and as more evidence builds that they&rsquore effective, it&rsquos only a matter of time before even more governments mandate them.source swift e, borland r, cummings k, et al. australian smokers&rsquo support for plain or standardised packs before and after implementation findings from the itc four country survey. tobacco control. 2014.
