Health Minister Nicola Roxon has not ruled out raising the tax on cigarettes if tobacco companies slash their prices
- James Massola
- From:The Australian
- May 17, 2011 10:19AM
IG tobacco companies have been labelled drug peddlers and accused of targeting their products to children, after warning they could slash prices to combat plain packaging rules.
Health Minister Nicola Roxon described the plans to slash prices as 'hogwash', and said the government would not rule out further increasing taxes on cigarettes should the tobacco companies go ahead with the plan to cut prices.
Australian Medical Association president Andrew Pesce said slashing prices would push cigarettes into the hands of kids.
"Whether they intend to be pushers or not, I'm not sure what they are motivated by, but that will be the intended effect", Dr Pesce told the Australian Online.
"The increase in prices has sent a signal, meaning people smoke less. If they circumvent that, the government will have to respond in other ways and the AMA will back that."
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Ms Roxon said the government expected tobacco companies to fight the move towards plain packaging in the courts, but the government believed it was on firm legal ground.
British American Tobacco chief executive David Crow has warned cigarette companies could slash prices to make their products more attractive and compete with black-market chop-chop tobacco.
Mr Crow also warned cheaper prices could lead to more people smoking, including children and said companies could seek massive compensation for the governments plan to label tobacco with health warnings and olive-green packets.
British American Tobacco will this morning launch a national media campaign against the federal government's plain cigarette packaging proposal.
But Dr Pesce rejected the idea of compensation for tobacco companies, saying they needed to accept the writing was on the wall.
"If you want to talk compensation, the companies should compensate the government for the costs to the health system," he said.
Ms Roxon did not rule out the government raising the excise on cigarettes to combat a potential price cut.
"I think we are in an extraordinary position where they say they want to protect their brands and profits but then they say they will slash prices to get people hooked onto smoking," she said on 5AA radio.
"This (plain packaging) is one way that we know we can actually reduce the harm caused to people by smoking, we can free up money spent in the health system."
The Minister called on Tony Abbott to reject political donations from the tobacco lobby and back plain packages for cigarettes.
"Mr Abbott needs to kick his habit," she said.
"As a former health minister, Mr Abbott knows that tobacco kills 15,000 Australians each year a tragic number that brings suffering to families all over Australia."
Tomado de:
The Australian
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