Aussies mock major flaw in new anti-smoking slogans

New anti-smoking messaging has been accused of missing the mark.

The new on-product health messages. Picture: Reddit

New anti-smoking messaging has been accused of missing the mark, but Cancer Council remains confident the messaging will discourage young people from picking up the habit.

As of April 1, new national legislation will require on-product health messaging to be displayed on individual cigarettes to remind smokers of the consequences of smoking.

It’s understood there are eight different messages that can appear on individual cigarettes, including “causes 16 cancers”, “poisons in every puff” and “toxic addiction.”

But many online are saying that the printed messages make the habit sound “cool” rather than a health warning.

In a post uploaded to Reddit on Friday, a smoker described the packaging changes as “appealing.”

“I can’t lie, when I first opened them and saw the print on the filter it felt like I got a holo in a booster pack,” they wrote.

“On these, the warning label is sometimes yellow or sometimes red. The little paper slip inside varies from quit tips to heath stats. I sort of looked forward to seeing which colour I would (get), but now with the new warnings on the filter I want to know what other text will appear. Gotta catch em all.”

The messaging is the latest in an assortment of anti-smoking measures.

Several commenters replied that the exact wording of the messaging is less-than-ideal.

“Unfortunately Toxic Addiction and Poisons in Every Puff both sound like the name of metal/indie bands,” one commenter wrote.

“You want angsty teens? This is how you get angsty teens,” another wrote.

The new legislation follows Canada’s world-first introduction of on-product health messaging in 2023.

Despite the negative comments on social media, Alecia Brooks, chair of Cancer Council’s Tobacco Issues Committee, said the new messaging is just one part of a comprehensive strategy aimed at encouraging people to quit smoking.

“These on-product health messages are designed to increase people’s understanding of

the consequences of smoking, and encourage them to stop smoking, or to not start at all,” she said.

“These health messages are not appealing, are unlikely to be considered ‘collectable’, given the fixed number of health messages and the price of tobacco products.

“We know that 70 per cent of Australian smokers want to quit and are actively planning to do so. Unfortunately, smoking is still estimated to kill more than 24,000 Australians

every year, or more than 66 people a day. This statistic is truly unacceptable and reinforces the need for a comprehensive approach to preventing uptake and supporting people to quit all tobacco products.”

She stated that tobacco control measures have reduced the number of daily smokers in Australia to just 8.3 per cent, while increasing the percentage of Australians who have never smoked to 65 per cent.

Individual cigarettes will now be required to have on-product health messaging.

“As tobacco remains the leading cause of preventable cancers, with approximately one in five cancer deaths in Australia attributed to smoking, the on-product health messages, alongside campaigns, graphic health warnings, and bans on additives and flavourings, that will be implemented soon are necessary to further reduce smoking rates and save lives,” she said.

“Cancer Council research on the impact of plain packaging found a significant drop in cigarette brand appeal, more noticing of health warnings and an increased likelihood of smokers making quit attempts.

“Just three years following the implementation of this legislation, a government study found around 25 per cent of the decline in smoking prevalence in Australia was attributable to plain packaging, with an estimated 100,000 Australians no longer smoking.

“It is unlikely on-product health warnings will entice Australians who have successfully quit smoking to pick back up a habit which is responsible for more cancer deaths in Australia than any other single factor.”