Plain packaging. Is this it?

[Blakes]

If I am to try to look at it as if the glass is half full, instead of completely empty, then I would rather see all boxes sold in that same green baggie shown in the picture as opposed to the huge bumper stickers currently being applied to the boxes. Probably just wishful thinking though. Likely stands about as much chance of happening as the labeling law's being reversed entirely.

+1

[Blakes]

This is such a crock. I can only see this benefitting two groups - government bureaucrat do-gooders with nothing better to do than ensure full and 100% compliance and levy fines if anything's out of place, and then counterfeiters.

I agree... utterly ridiculous!

Next they'll be laws to serve pints in pubs and bars in a brown paper bag!!

[First Lady]

Yes people ths is what our brains at the government have come up with to stop people smoking, I actually like it as well to be honest but you have to love the Ozzie government, they think it will stop people smoking... Twits.

Apparently thy are looking at doing the same with alcohol honestly the must e so bored in Canberra .... Our hard earned tax dollars at work ...

[Fuzz]

Are the bands glued to the originals? They can't be removed can they?

The regulation is that the bands must completely cover the non-compliant band (if it is still underneath) and be securely fastened to, and not easily removed from, the non-compliant band. For cigars with more than one band, both bands need to be covered and fastened to with plain bands.

[Fuzz]

Yes people ths is what our brains at the government have come up with to stop people smoking, I actually like it as well to be honest but you have to love the Ozzie government, they think it will stop people smoking... Twits.

Apparently thy are looking at doing the same with alcohol honestly the must e so bored in Canberra .... Our hard earned tax dollars at work ...

It's already in the pipeline. Some of my sources have advised that the govt have already mocked up samples of the plain packaging for booze and drafted parts of the legislation.

There's also some talk about the govt trying to introduce warning labels (like those on cigars/ciggie packaging) to the back label of wine bottles and across beer cartons as an interim solution before rolling out plain packaging. It's an updated version of what they tried to do a few years back.

[thering]

When I was a child mum always used to say "make sure you have your greens, they're good for". These newly labelled cigars MUST be good for me, Mamma wouldn't lie.

[jsd]

Sounds like something the govt here in the states would try to implement. What a joke.

[ARRV]

In general terms I think that the plain packaging is clearly aimed at cigarettes and that cigars are seen as an irrelevant side issue - ie just apply it to all tobacco products. No real thought involved and again no dichotomy between cigarettes and cigars although clearly there is one.

I have seen the cigarette packaging and to me hardly looks any different from previous packaging as the warning labels on old packages were so large that they covered the box and only the lid was left unmarked - now the lid is a uniform dark colour across all brands - again i think it is green or black - didn't notice.

No one is going to stop smoking because of it.

I can see that it may pose some initial issue to a new cigarette smoker - ie what brand do I want - which is also complicated because all products must be kept out of sight of the public so in corner stores they are usually in a cabinet. But I think that the answer to that question will be solved in 10 seconds by any new smoker - give me the cheapest.

As for cigar smokers - the law is simply irrelevant in stopping people smoking cigars. All it does is remove, momentarily if indeed the bands are still there underneath - the fleeting joy of checking out the band, As for the boxes - it just stuffs up the storage and the prety dress boxes - plus I made a cigar box uke once so that will be a thing of the past.

But really, navel gazing and relevancy depravation from our politicians - have to feed the machine - have to be seen to be doing something. Quick everyone look busy.

Which is fine save that there are many other matters for the government to be spending our tax money on - or otherwise not taking it from us in the first place

[CaptainQuintero]

Legitimately concerned parent - How do we stop teenagers from taking up smoking?

Politician - I know, let's tell them they are not allowed to smoke, hide cigarettes behind cabinets to make them something taboo and secretive, raise the tax on them so they are seen as something expensive and hard to get for young people and then tell them that only bad people smoke.

Legitimately concerned parent - You've never met a teenager before have you?

Politician - What do you mean? Anyway we can just make them illegal soon, prohibition will solve this problem.

[cigcars]

Legitimately concerned parent - How do we stop teenagers from taking up smoking?

Politician - I know, let's tell them they are not allowed to smoke, hide cigarettes behind cabinets to make them something taboo and secretive, raise the tax on them so they are seen as something expensive and hard to get for young people and then tell them that only bad people smoke.

Legitimately concerned parent - You've never met a teenager before have you?

Politician - What do you mean? Anyway we can just make them illegal soon, prohibition will solve this problem.

OR - they could do what my great aunts did. My mom (at 4 years old) watched them smoking cigarettes. She finally asked could she have one. They said, "Yeah, sure," and gave it to her. By the time she finished coughing and eyes watering spasms they knew they didn't have to worry about her sneaking off and trying it behind some corner somewhere. Same with beer. One of the little ones would watch them drink a beer, go up to them and ask if they could have some. "Yeah, sure." Gave it to him/her; "E-E-E-W-W-W-W!!!" with their little face scrunching up at the taste. Same outcome. If they'd have said "No" then hiding out, hanging with wrong crowds, etc., etc. Like the Concerned Parent said..."You've never had teenagers, have you?"

[Blakes]

The thing with smoking is the revenue from the tax far outweighs the cost smoking related illnesses have on the taxpayer... i think it more than double. They will never prohibit it. They couldn't manage with such a huge cut in revenue. They'll just do things that 'looks' like they are addressing the problem but as we all know wont change a thing. Meanwhile constantly increasing tax. Same thing with alcohol.

Now if the cost on society (monenetry terms) started outweighing the tax revenue of them i'm sure you'd see a pretty quick move towards prohibition by the polititions!

The next 'big' thing our goverments will start looking at taxing heavy and interfering with is junk food, bad diets etc...you can see it already starting. Bad diets and obesitey related health issues have become a huge problem and at huge cost to taxpayers.

[david9985]

Just wondering about cigar smoking etiquette... do you smoke with the new green band on, or remove it first?

[Fuzz]

Just wondering about cigar smoking etiquette... do you smoke with the new green band on, or remove it first?

Collect them, then send the lot to Roxon to show it hasn't made a difference in consumption!

[Bunner]

gotta love babysitter gov'ts cant let people make thier own informed decisions got to make the choices for them. Canada is another example... we wont be far along behind this I am sure.

[ajgagnon]

How about an FOH army green theme? Plain packaging t-shirts, mugs...'FOH is not a safe alternative'

Love it!

[David67]

I was in a small tobacconist the other day and the chap who runs it told me he had been on a course regarding the new “plain packaging” laws. He said it is illegal for shops just to put the news bands over the top of the originals and that the original bands MUST be removed. Does anyone else know anything about this?

[El Presidente]

I was in a small tobacconist the other day and the chap who runs it told me he had been on a course regarding the new “plain packaging” laws. He said it is illegal for shops just to put the news bands over the top of the originals and that the original bands MUST be removed. Does anyone else know anything about this?

That is incorrect.

[Fuzz]

From the Plain Packaging Guide booklet issued by the DHA:

Cigar Bands

Cigar Boxes

Cigar Tubes

Cigar Tins

Please note that this is only an indicative guide and does not list all of the plain packaging requirements.

[Trevor2118]

Please note that this is only an indicative guide and does not list all of the plain packaging requirements.

The rest they will makeup as they go.

[CanuckSARTech]

From the Plain Packaging Guide booklet issued by the DHA....

....Please note that this is only an indicative guide and does not list all of the plain packaging requirements.

MY GAWD. I've actually never looked it up before.

DO THESE GOVERNMENT TYPES SERIOUSLY HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO?!?!?!?!!?

(....we need to get a :pullinghairout: anti-smiley....)

[David67]

That is incorrect.

I hope so. This man was very adamant. When I told him a shop up the road was just covering the bands he said "well there's people selling cocaine in this town - does't make it legal"

Anyway I hate the whole thing - booze will be next so start fighting that one NOW!

[Fuzz]

I hope so. This man was very adamant. When I told him a shop up the road was just covering the bands he said "well there's people selling cocaine in this town - does't make it legal"

Anyway I hate the whole thing - booze will be next so start fighting that one NOW!

You can sell cigars with the bands underneath, as long as the green band is firmly affixed (ie glued on) and totally covers the old band.

We've had to do that with a few cigars instore where we couldn't return them to the vendor for exchange.

[orangedog]

This is actually pretty awesome!* With those gawd awful health warnings glued to the plain packaging, we can rip off the plain packaging (with warning stickers) and enjoy a normal box underneath.

Can the packaging be ripped of the boxes? If so I may request all plain packaging boxes to get rid of those stupid stickers.

*obviously this is tongue in cheek, but I am excited to get rid of those stupid stickers

[David67]

You can sell cigars with the bands underneath, as long as the green band is firmly affixed (ie glued on) and totally covers the old band.

We've had to do that with a few cigars instore where we couldn't return them to the vendor for exchange.

OK, what about new stock that is not packaged for the Australian market? Can you just put government bands over those ones?

[Fuzz]

This extract should clear things up a little:

Q. The tobacco products that I sell are manufactured overseas, and my manufacturer or supplier has refused to manufacture or supply them in plain packaging and/or with the new health warnings. What can I do?

A. From 1 December 2012, you can import tobacco products into Australia in non-compliant packaging, so long as the products and their packaging are made compliant before they are sold, offered for sale or otherwise supplied (whether by wholesale or retail sale) in Australia. This may involve repackaging tobacco products into compliant packaging, and/or the alteration of the tobacco product itself (for example, by removing or covering non-compliant cigar bands) to comply with the product requirements in the plain packaging legislation.

You are responsible for sourcing any equipment, materials or other resources you need to ensure that from 1 December 2012 all of your tobacco products and their packaging meet the plain packaging and new health warning requirements prior to being sold, offered for sale or otherwise supplied (whether by wholesale or retail sale) in Australia.

Q. I will be importing tobacco products for my store from overseas in branded packaging. Can I use drab dark brown adhesive stickers to make the packaging compliant with plain packaging?

A. No. The option to cover non-compliant packaging of non-cigarette tobacco products with adhesive material in the specified drab dark brown colour (‘overstickering’), which was proposed in the initial consultation paper on non-cigarette tobacco products, is not permitted in the plain packaging regulations.

The decision not to allow ‘overstickering’ was made by the Australian Government following strong and broad-based feedback in the consultation process that it would not be practical.

Retail packaging for all tobacco products will have to be purpose-made to comply with the plain packaging requirements. Tobacco products that are imported in non-compliant packaging will need to be repacked into compliant packaging before being sold, offered for sale or otherwise supplied in Australia.

Although ‘overstickering’ is not allowed as a way of complying with plain packaging, adhesive labels or bands may be used in limited circumstances. For example, adhesive labels which contain the prescribed health warnings and fire risk statement may be used in some circumstances. For further information concerning the use of adhesive labels or bands see the Tobacco Plain Packaging Regulations 2011 and the Competition and Consumer (Tobacco) Information Standard 2011.