Australian Teenagers Rebel Over Plain Cigarette Packaging

I've commented many times on but never devoted an article to the deluded nature of the anti-smoking campaign, which claims great success in curbing smoking but completely ignores unofficial estimates that for every cigarette sold legitimately in the UK, another one (or possibly two) are contraband. This news item from Breitbart London on the reaction to the latest and most irrational personal liberty curtailing anti smoking measure, plain packaging, in Australia sums up the state of the game pretty well.

from Breitbart London
Australian Teenagers Rebel Over Plain Cigarette Packaging

It has been recently reported in New South Wales (NSW), Australia that cigarette plain packaging, along with the hike in taxes has seen a resurgence in illegal tobacco. Some of the biggest buyers are teenagers.

The illegal smokes are sold without any health warnings and are half the price of those than can be bought legally, eight Australian dollars as opposed to nearly 16. They are either purchased from under the counter at legitimate stores or on street corners. Seizures of contraband according to the Australian Customs and Border Protection for 2007-2013 have risen from 107 million sticks to nearly double at 200 million.

A week ago in the suburbs of Fairfield and Bankstown $1 million in cash was appropriated along with 500,000 cigarettes and 70kg of loose tobacco.

The added worry to anti-smokering campaigners is that they are seen as "cool." Rosie aged fifteen noted: "It just makes people more excited about original packaging," she said: "It helps that they are cheaper." Ashley who is also fifteen concurred, "The only thing plain packaging does is make original packaging cooler." [ READ ALL

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