Today, Australia’s high court upheld a law requiring tobacco products, starting December 1, to have plain packaging without logos and bear graphic health warnings. (The images below are of actual packaging.) The government immediately hailed the ruling, calling it a “watershed moment for tobacco control around the world.” Big tobacco companies, shockingly, weren’t as happy.
The fight is nothing new: Other Australian government initiatives against tobacco have included a 25% excise in 2010, restrictions on Internet advertising, and more than $85 million in anti-smoking social marketing campaigns.
