Removing the Emperor's Clothes

In December 2012, Australia became the first nation in the world to require all tobacco products to be sold in standard ‘plain’ packs under the leadership of the then Health Minister Nicola Roxon. Tobacco companies have had global apoplexy about the law. Humiliated in the Australian High Court with a six-one defeat, their hopes now rest with deterring other nations from following suit by pursuing international trade law action.

With a combined 50 years of research and advocacy experience in tobacco control, Simon Chapman and Becky Freeman set out the evidence for the importance of plain packaging in striking at the heart of what remains of tobacco advertising. They examine the history of the idea, the tobacco industry’s frantic efforts to derail it, and the early evidence for its impact. Most importantly, they give tools to policy makers in other countries wanting to make the best case for plain packaging and to defend it from the inevitable attacks that will follow.

Becky Freeman is a senior lecturer in public health at the University of Sydney.

Simon Chapman is professor emeritus of public health at the University of Sydney. In 2013 he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for his contributions to public health.

Foreword
Abbreviations
Introduction
Acknowledgments

1. Early advocacy for plain packs
2. Prevention on a new government’s agenda
3. Why the industry cares so much about packing – the silent salesman
4. Tobacco industry arguments, strategies and tactics
5. Plain packaging – why now? And why Australia?
6. Legal challenges, massive costs
7. Evaluating the impact of plain packaging

‘In this book you get a great combination: a depth of policy detail ... the arms-race nature of the political battle that took place ... and Chapman’s sense of humour permeating right throughout.’
Chris Picton   Croakey

Format: paperback
Size: 210 × 148 × 15 mm
272 pages
11 colour illustrations and 20 b&w illustrations
Copyright: © 2014
ISBN: 9781743323977
Publication: 06 Dec 2014