Cancer Council Welcomes Withdrawal of ‘Split Packs’

The Cancer Council Australia welcomes the withdrawal from today of Dunhill cigarette wallet packs, or “split packs”, following court action initiated by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

Anita Tang, Chair of The Cancer Council Australia’s Tobacco Issues Committee, said the ACCC should be commended for its swift response in instituting legal proceedings to halt the sale of split packs under the Trade Practices Act. “The split packs, which we believe made cigarettes more attractive and affordable to children and other vulnerable members of the community, immediately caused great concern among health promotion organisations when they emerged a few weeks ago,” Ms Tang said. “The court order sought by the ACCC will help to prevent this kind of exploitation occurring again.” “The tobacco industry is notorious for trying to rort any possible loophole in legislation designed to protect Australians from the deadly effects and addiction of smoking. So it’s encouraging to see the process of law used to good effect to shut down this latest cynical attempt to recruit new smokers.” “We also welcomed the support of Christopher Pyne, Parliamentary Secretary to the federal Minister for Health and Ageing, whose office took a strong interest in our concerns and supported a legal approach to eradicate the split packs.”(Source: Cancer Council: November 2006.)