Australia
Lolly cigarette ban to curb teenage smoking
Fruit and lolly-flavoured cigarettes used to trick young people into smoking will be banned within the next month.
As promising new research revealed the number of teenagers smoking has halved since 2002, Health Minister Daniel Andrews announced new laws banning flavoured cigarettes would be enforced in the coming weeks.
Under legislation passed last year, individuals caught selling flavoured cigarettes can be fined $500, while businesses will face $7000 fines for each breach.
Mr Andrews said fruit and lolly flavoured cigarettes now on sale were nothing but "a cynical marketing ploy to trick young people into taking up smoking".
"A third of young people are more likely to take up smoking or try a product like this than a non-fruit flavoured tobacco product," he said.
State and territory governments agreed to the flavoured cigarette ban two years ago, with South Australia, New South Wales and Tasmania already enforcing bans.
To mark World No Tobacco Day yesterday, Quit released its latest research showing six per cent of Victoria's 12-15 year olds, and 14 per cent of 16-17 year-olds, now smoke.
Quit director Fiona Sharkie said the numbers had halved since 2002, meaning 29,000 fewer young people had endangered their health and risked long-term addiction.
"What that translates to is there's 29,000 fewer smokers and 15,000 fewer deaths from tobacco, when we consider that one out of every two smokers will die from a smoking-caused illness," she said. Jacinta Heffernan, 17, started smoking last year because of pressure from friends, but quit this year, saying she hated the habit.
"At the start I liked it, but it's disgusting and makes your breath stink," she said.
"I now feel a lot healthier and happier."
Her friend Sandon Stuart said he had grown tired of telling his mates and mother to stop, with too many young people still thinking the unhealthy habit is cool.
(Published by The Herald Sun – May 31, 2010)