Australia will become the second country in the world after Canada to print grim warnings on every single cigarette.
The move is one of a raft of new laws surrounding smoking and vaping starting today.
Cancer Council and Quit backed the move, saying the phrases convey the dangers of the habit “in a manner that cannot be avoided”.
The laws were announced last year but come into force on April 1, 2025.
Health warnings on individual Australian cigarettes will include phrases such as “CAUSES 16 CANCERS”, “DAMAGES YOUR LUNGS” and “DAMAGES DNA”.
More graphic warnings will be emblazoned across cigarette boxes, covering as much as 90 per cent of the packet.
Plus new leaflets will be put inside to help people stop smoking.
A phased ban on menthol in cigarettes also begins today.
The federal government said it designed our health warnings, leaflets and on-product messages “to encourage and support people who smoke to quit.”
“We have tested the health warnings, health promotion inserts, and on-product health messages to ensure they are effective,” it said online.
Professor Sarah Durkin, the director of the Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer at the Cancer Council Victoria, said it would make a difference.
“Graphic health warnings have long proven effective in increasing knowledge about the harms of smoking, preventing smoking uptake and encouraging people who smoke to quit,” she said.
“But evidence has shown that the effectiveness of the current warnings has decreased over time, as people have become accustomed to seeing the images.
“We also have new scientific information that extends our knowledge of the health effects of tobacco use.
“The new graphic health warnings feature some of these harms of smoking that people may not be aware of, such as diabetes, erectile dysfunction, cervical cancer, DNA damage, and the impact of second-hand smoke on children’s lung capacity.
Quit Director Rachael Andersen said she hoped the changes would educate smokers about the dangers as well as help them to stop.
Alecia Brooks, chairwoman of Cancer Council’s Tobacco Issues Committee, also backed the move.
“Cancer Council and Quit are pleased to see these new changes come into effect today. Australia is one of the first countries to require evidence-based health promotion inserts and on-stick messaging, and we should be proud of our commitment to protect Australians from the harms of smoking.”
“It’s not lost on us that despite Australia’s relatively low-prevalence, smoking is still a top public health priority. While 66 Australians die from smoking-related illness every day, we’ll continue doing all we can to end the lethal impact of tobacco,” added Brooks.
