AMA Supports ACCC Moves on Misleading Tobacco Advertising
AMA Vice President, Dr Mukesh Haikerwal, said today the AMA supports moves by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to look more closely at the way tobacco companies market so-called 'light' cigarettes.
Dr Haikerwal said the tobacco industry has been misleading consumers with claims of 'light', 'mild' and 'low tar' brands for too long.
"Smoking kills 19,000 people each year at a cost of around $21 billion," Dr Haikerwal said.
"There's no doubt that 'light' cigarettes are as dangerous as regular cigarettes.
"Slick marketing, including the use of lighter coloured packaging and the misleading use of words is leading smokers to believe that 'light' means safe. It doesn't.
"Additional euphemisms which make the product sound safer must not be sanctioned.
"It is claimed that industry documents show tobacco companies have known for a long time that these products are as bad for smokers as regular cigarettes.
"People who switch to light cigarettes inhale the same amount of hazardous chemicals, and face the same risk of developing smoking-related cancers and other diseases, as people who smoke regular cigarettes.
"The only way for smokers to reduce the risks to their health, and the health of the people around them, is to see the light and stop smoking completely.
"The tobacco industry must be held financially accountable for the damage caused by their misleading advertising.
"Directing the proceeds of fines towards corrective advertising and programs might begin to address some of the damage caused by misleading advertising.
"As things stand, big tobacco companies are abusing consumer protection and snubbing the legal system," Dr Haikerwal said.
23 February 2005
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