Australian Court OKs Cigarette Logo Ban: Should Your Country Do the Same?

by mrosen814 Posted 2012/08/16 22:00:00

Related Topics: Cancer, smoking, Health, Australia, Corporate, Government, Tobacco, News, Country, Court, Branding, Image, Images, Logo, Packs

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	Yes	474 votes	43%
	No	632 votes	57%

Starting this December, branding and logos from cigarette companies cannot be displayed anywhere on cigarette packages in Australia. According to CBS News, "the packs will instead come in a uniformly drab shade of olive and feature graphic health warnings and images of cancer-riddled mouths, blinded eyeballs and sickly children." The government hopes the new packs will make smoking as unglamorous as possible.

CBSNEWS.COM reports:
Cigarette packs in Australia on track to be stripped of corporate logos, despite tobacco lobbying

+29

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Bud 2012/08/17 14:35:50

No

+24
Yet another example of government attempting to dictate how people live their lives. Government has thrown out the principle of personal responsibility by placing blame on things. Cigarettes do not kill people, misusing them does. Twenty ounce sodas do not make people any fatter than twenty ounce lattes but misusing them does. Government has also maligned the fast food industry which is a useful, lawful enterprise because some people over indulge and become obese, that is the responsibility of people who eat too much not the responsibility of fast food. Lastly, we hear "Guns kill people!" Guns do not kill people, people kill people. Left to themselves all guns can do is slowly rust away.

What we need is for government to get the hell out of our lives and leave us alone!

Bud
>> See Replies

More polls by mrosen814

Rhi-ot. 2012/08/19 15:05:34

No

I'm undecided, on one hand; good! smoking is a filthy, filthy habit.
On the other hand I feel like such graphic images can haunt people at night lol.

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Matt to Rhi-ot. 2012/08/19 18:36:45

+1
those graphic images have been on the packets for a few years already here in australia, the change will be the removal of the fancy logos etc of the manufacturers.
As well as the graphic ads on the cigratte boxes, there are also graphic ads on giant billboards and on TV. The massive cost of smoking related diseases is borne by all tax payers in Australia due to the healthcare system, so the Govt does what it can to reduce the smokers numbers... they massively tax each packet of cigarettes so are kind of shooting themselves in the foot...

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wilma.s... to Matt 2012/08/19 23:11:24

Seen like any thig you toug,make you sick...

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Rhi-ot. to Matt 2012/08/19 23:27:14

ya very true, and I kinda forgot that here in Canada, our tax money also goes to healthcare as well, and smokers are causing their own illnesses

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dairyshark 2012/08/19 13:39:09

Yes

+1
The greatest healthcare costs are smoking related. If the government is not going to ban the substance, which they won't because of the thousands of jobs involved and one of the strongest lobby groups in the country, then letting people know what will happen to them has to go on a daily level. A per cigarette level where the addicted have to think and the beginner really sees what can happen. If these images impact young people that is good because industry research shows if someone does not start smoking by age 20 then they will most likely never smoke.

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Pastor ... to dairyshark 2012/08/19 19:40:18

Actually the greatest healthcare costs are due to obesity. That's the epidemic, yet over-eaters aren't taxed to death like smokers are. Go figure!

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.: LiVi :. 2012/08/19 12:03:40

No

+1

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serethiel 2012/08/19 04:52:13

No

+2
i hate smoking, but i also hate the government. and besides, those images do nothing.

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♪_Jinxxed_♫ 2012/08/19 03:05:32

No

+2
Even though I agree with the new labels, it's a person or company's right to pick what ever logo they want.

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The Bantam Seditioner 2012/08/19 02:08:01

No

+2
I don't smoke and I don't recommend others do it either. But people should be free to make that personal choice for themselves. By now, anybody who hasn't lived their whole lives under rocks should know that smoking is bad for you. But as adults, that's their call to make. What the Hell is government doing getting itself involved in a personal transaction between consenting adults?

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Pastor ... to The Ban... 2012/08/19 19:41:18

+2
Taxing us!!!

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Rebecca 2012/08/19 00:12:49

Yes

+3
Of course! Smoking a horrible, horrible habit.

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shiroidenkou1994 2012/08/19 00:12:23

No

This is dumb. If you want to encourage less people to smoke, you can do it by educating them. Using scare tactics like this is not the way to go. I doubt it will help and it just makes the government of Australia look stupid.

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hannah to shiroid... 2012/08/19 22:41:11

sometimes you do have to "jolt" (in a manner of speaking) people though because some people wouldnt get the severities of the side-effects of ciggs if they were merely educated about it. i DO agree they SHOULD be but the tactics also come in handy as a reminder of the true danger of smoking. but education without the tactics wouldnt work for many die-hard smokers cause then they'd just be like "eh who gives a crap?" you see what i mean by what im sayin here? :)

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Rebecca 2012/08/18 23:59:24

Yes

+1
(i meant no)
smoking is so disgusting. the worst is that it not only damages the person, but everyone around them. not to mention all their clothes and furniture(if they smoke in the house)

but those pictures dont do a single thing so why would removing the brand do anything

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NeutronBomb 2012/08/18 22:55:29

Yes

+2
Cigarette companies knowingly make money from peoples suffering

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Charles... to Neutron... 2012/08/19 08:52:52

So does the gov't via TAXATION!

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Neutron... to Charles... 2012/08/19 09:18:45

+1
dont be stupid its not the same

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dairyshark to Charles... 2012/08/19 13:49:12

+1
Totally stupid comparison. The government loses millions, if not billions of dollars due to the costs related to smoking. Those losses come from lost revenue to SS, people leaving the workforce far earlier than non-smokers, paying for expensive care for the uninsured (Medicaid) and retired (Medicare, tricare, VA care). The number of smokers in the military is higher than any other "profession". It was heavily encouraged in boot camp for decades, so much so that non-smokers we're punished until they took up smoking.

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Pastor ... to dairyshark 2012/08/19 19:43:40

The government loses even more money due to obesity. Why aren't they over-taxing fat people like they do smokers?

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Pastor ... to Charles... 2012/08/19 19:42:19

+1
More than the manufacturers, too!!

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Pinball Wizard 2012/08/18 22:51:14

No

That would be as bad as this.Warning the following photos on page are quite disturbing.
http://kkkmedicine.blogspot.c...

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Altering_Minds. 2012/08/18 22:34:31

Yes

+2
Ok, I don't really care what most ill blame the "goverment" for, but this is HELPING you, it's not bad in any way...if we stop our children from smoking, their children won't know about cigs, and won't smoke them, then no one dies from smoking...more lives are saved, and some of you are calling it a bad thing...

OH NO, THE "GOVERMENT" IS STOPING US FROM DYING! LET'S PROTEST!
https://encrypted-tbn0.google...

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us to Alterin... 2012/08/19 17:22:04

NO, its not that, the government put so much tax on cigarette to fund children healthcare, and other programs, that if you take that away, GOvernment is losing all those taxes.

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Pastor ... to us 2012/08/19 19:44:50

+1
The government also pays subsidies to the tobacco industry. Who are they trying to kid?

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us to Pastor ... 2012/08/20 01:50:52

Government pays subsidies, where does government get money from taxpayers,

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Pastor ... to us 2012/08/20 16:05:39

That's right, and smokers are taxpayers also.

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Nonpart... to us 2012/08/19 19:50:33

I would like to see the Government get zero tax from tobacco, when it is no longer sold to anyone. Healthcare, and other things that we need, do not have to be funded from pain and suffering of tobacco addicts.

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us to Nonpart... 2012/08/20 01:52:21

So, the taxes receive from people smoking, goes to children healthcare, in michigan, I don't know that is in other states.

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devin.cassidy 2012/08/18 22:24:40
calvin236 2012/08/18 21:50:47

No

+2
Even though i don't like smoking in general, this takes it too far.

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Heisenberg 2012/08/18 21:31:34

No

+1
I wonder what the images look like for gay sex?

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Pinball... to Heisenberg 2012/08/18 22:48:04 (edited)

+1
A person close to death from AIDS. Warning: The photos on page are quite disturbing. http://kkkmedicine.blogspot.c...

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shiroid... to Pinball... 2012/08/19 00:05:13

[...]

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Charles... to shiroid... 2012/08/19 08:55:55

+1
Why is Pinball an idiot? Just because he shows just as disgusting pics of AIDS pts, instead of CANCER pts?

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Heisenberg to Charles... 2012/08/19 16:07:43

That is exactly the point I was trying to make.

There are some behaviors the left finds acceptable and others they do not and they are not consistent.

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dairyshark to Heisenberg 2012/08/19 13:56:56 (edited)

Comparing a move to modify a behavior choice ( smoking) with some strong images to trying to stop someone from following their internal wiring (gay, lesbian) with images of aids patients is totally ridiculous. Welcome to Nazi Germany, where if you are not like us, you are the enemy and must be killed. I hate bigots. [...]

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Heisenberg to dairyshark 2012/08/19 16:08:29

You use racist epithets while calling someone else 'bigoted'.

Is the irony lost on you?

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Bigbrowneyes 2012/08/18 20:28:32

Yes

+2
Haha, gross. People should be able to do what they want...That partly includes not having to inhale second-hand smoke at outdoor events. Have to look at it this issue of freedom from different perspectives.

Before you reply to me about how I like "government meddling", remember who pushed our local tobacco in the first place.

Then again, maybe our North Carolina farmers just need to find a new crop which is just as profitable. It would really affect our state economy if people stopped smoking all at once...

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Muriel 2012/08/18 20:06:58

No

+1
Good grief!! What next? A hunk of black lung? People smoke from choice the government drones should stay out of people's lives ,

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