Cigarettes blog news.

THE federal government has formally rejected big tobacco's High Court claims that the commonwealth is actually acquiring the companies' brands through its new cigarette plain packaging laws. The government lodged its detailed submissions to the High Court today in response to the legal action launched by four big tobacco companies. In November last year, the government passed landmark laws forcing all cigarettes to be sold in drab olive-brown packs by December 2012. British American Tobacco, Phillip Morris, Imperial Tobacco Australia and Japan Tobacco International are now challenging the legislation in the High Court.

They believe the laws breach the Australian Constitution because they seek to acquire property - in the form of brand names - without providing compensation. But the government insists it is restricting the use of brand names and logos, not taking them over.In the submissions filed today, the government rejected the tobacco companies' main argument. "The argument is unsustainable," the commonwealth said. "What an owner gains by registration of a trademark is relatively no more than a monopoly right to exclude others from using the mark without the owner's authority." The submissions rebuked British American Tobacco Australia for downplaying the harm of tobacco.

"BATA fail to capture the gravity of the harm that is caused by smoking to members of the public and public health," the submissions said. The government argues packaging has become the principal means for cigarette companies to promote their products following restrictions on advertising. "The primary job of the package is to create a desire to purchase and try," the submissions said. "The actual purchase of cigarettes does not exhaust the promotional utility of the packaging. Unlike many other consumer products, cigarette packaging is displayed each time the product is used." It argues the packaging is designed with a high degree of "social visibility".

"Minute attention is paid to all aspects of the packet, including colour, font style, placement, orientation, number and thickness of stripes and texture of the packaging wrapper," the submissions said. "Colours such as pink, white and yellow, (conveying qualities of freshness, feminity, cleanliness, purity and health) as well as slimmer packs tend to appeal to young women and lighter colours are also perceived by many consumers (quite mistakenly) to present a lower health risk."

It quotes the 2012 Surgeon General report that states: "Plain packaging makes smoking less appealing." Attorney General Nicola Roxon said the government will vigorously defend the validity of the plain packaging laws and rejects the tobacco companies' claims that the measures are unconstitutional. "Plain packaging of tobacco products is a legitimate measure designed to achieve a fundamental objective - the protection of public health," Ms Roxon said.

For many years the Fond du Lac County Tobacco Control Coalition, now known as Five Counties for Tobacco-Free Living, has been working hard to reduce tobacco use rates in Fond du Lac County and more recently, in our five-counties area and across the state of Wisconsin. The Fond du Lac County Tobacco Prevention Control Coalition, with the support of the Fond du Lac County Health Department, has supported and promoted best practices recommended by the CDC and was instrumental in educating the people of Fond du Lac on the need for safe, clean, indoor air in all public places. This resulted in the passage of a citywide Smoke-Free Restaurant Ordinance in 1998 and passage of a Comprehensive Smoke-Free Ordinance that covered all work and public places in 2008, prior to the passage of the state of Wisconsin going smoke free.

That same leadership continues with the current Five Counties for Tobacco-Free Living Coalition by members working hard to decrease tobacco sales to minors, supporting FACT Fighting Against Corporate Tobacco youth advocacy groups in our five-counties area, educating local and state leaders on the tobacco prevention and control issues, working with workplaces on the development and implementation of tobacco-free policies, and working hard to prevent kids from starting tobacco use and by helping adults quit tobacco. On Friday, Feb. 24, tobacco prevention efforts in Wisconsin were weakened when a Wisconsin judge ruled that the roll your own (RYO) cigarette stores can continue to dodge the state's cigarette tax and therefore have the ability to sell a carton of cigarettes for $30 instead of the average price of $50 to $60. Cigarettes made in a RYO store should not be differentiated from those made in a factory; and they should be taxed the same.

Untaxed RYO cigarettes are harming our communities since cheaper cigarettes encourage kids to start smoking and by not maintaining economic pressure (price) on adults who smoke to quit. In Wisconsin, tobacco already costs every household almost $2,000 a year in health-care costs and lost productivity. Coalitions have worked hard to lower these costs by helping adults quit and preventing tens of thousands of kids from picking up this lifelong addiction. Tobacco control coalitions are severely underfunded by all reasonable estimates of resources needed to counteract the rich and sophisticated tobacco industry. The Tobacco Control Program receives less than 1 percent of the amount the state collects in tobacco taxes. The funding comes from state general revenues and is in no way coupled to taxes collected on tobacco products. Taxing the RYO cigarettes isn't just a matter of fairness — it's a matter of keeping our kids and communities healthy and strong.

The Commerce Ministry has sought opinion from finance and industry ministries over a demand from tobacco farmers association to tighten import of cigarettes into the country. In an inter-ministerial communication, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has pointed out that Consortium of Indian farmers Associations (CIFA) has demanded to remove import of cigarette under open general license (OGL).

"The association has pointed out alarming increase of imports due to OGL and also growth of smuggled and controlled cigarettes resulting in Indian tobacco farmers are getting low price for their product. CIFA has therefore requested to remove import of cigarette under OGL," the DGFT has said. India's cigarettes import has increased to Rs 5,548.85 lakh in 2010-11 from Rs 4,773.77 lakh in 2009-10. During April-June this fiscal, imports stood at Rs 1,837.65 lakh. CIFA in its letter to the Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma has said that international cigarette makers are trying to push their surplus production into India through legal and illegal routes.

"It appears that in the recent past, cigarette imports in to our country is alarmingly increasing since the cigarettes are classified under OGL. Further, we have also came to know that under the garb of import of legal cigarettes, the growth of smuggled and contraband cigarettes which is estimated to be around Rs 1,900 crore this year," it said. The association said that according to reports, 17 billion cigarette sticks are smuggled into Indian every year, making it the sixth highest consumer of smuggled cigarettes in the world.

"Domestic manufacturers who are totally depending on domestically grown tobacco are not able to utilise more of our tobacco due to increase in legal and illegal import of cigarettes," it added. Further, it said that the huge price differential between India and neighbouring countries is also one of the reasons for the increase in smuggling of cigarettes.