Blog #10: Fight may cost Big Tobacco a packet

People all around the world smoke cigarettes. It’s becoming a popular trend, especially in Asia where independent women see smoking as a fun hobby. This article is about Australia’s fight against the tobacco industry. Australia has a law that enforces cigarette packs to be plain. They said that the plain design will lower their smoking rates, and studies show that it does. In the late 80’s, 30% of Australian smoked, and now it’s 15%. They predict that by 2025, only 5% of Australians will smoke. Margaret Chan, the head of the World Health Organization, will fight this battle. She told the tobacco industry that they are running a killing and intimidating industry, but not in a crush-proof box. Chan says that the success in Australia is going to be the success of the world. In the 20^th century, tobacco killed 100 million people, more than all wars combined. Now in the 21^st century, 1 billion people will die from tobacco-related illnesses. In the Soloman Islands, more than 41% of the population smoke. In China, Chinese men alone smoke one-third of the world’s cigarettes. Australia and other countries around the world are in this battle against the tobacco industry to lower the rate of smokers.

This is an important battle and it’s good that people are implementing laws that reduce smoking. Although there are battles going on, the tobacco industry is still going strong. They are always on the search for new targets and new areas to promote the selling of cigarettes. Their newest target is women in Asia, where the tobacco industry has put Hello Kitty and other cute characters on cigarette boxes to attract the women. It is shocking how a bad thing can be so popular. This reminds me of the war on drugs, because as long as there is a demand, there will be a supply. People will always be hooked on smoking cigarettes, so this is going to be one hard battle. The most important thing to keep in mind is that there are people out there fighting to reduce this statistic, and it’s also important to prevent the next generation from falling into this pattern. 

http://www.smh.com.au/national/health/fight-may-cost-big-tobacco-a-packet-20120323-1vp5d.html