Australian Medical Association

Welcoming the passing today of legislation to increase the excise on tobacco products by 25 per cent, the AMA is urging the Parliament to be equally supportive of other anti-smoking initiatives, especially the introduction of plain packaging for tobacco products.

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said the Government’s strong action to combat smoking would save lives and improve the health of many thousands of Australians.

“Making cigarettes more expensive is a strong deterrent for smokers and potential smokers,” Dr Pesce said.

South Australia has the dubious distinction of receiving the AMA’s annual Dirty Ashtray Award for the second year in a row for the Australian State or Territory that made the least progress on combating smoking during 2009/10.

Ahead of World No Tobacco Day on 31 May, AMA Federal President, Dr Andrew Pesce today announced results of the AMA/Australian Council on Smoking and Health (ACOSH) National Tobacco Scoreboard.

The scoreboard allocates points to each State and Territory in various categories, including legislation, to track how effective governments have been at combating smoking in the previous 12 months. For the first time, this year the Commonwealth Government was considered as part of the same ranking process as State and Territory governments.

“It’s disappointing that South Australia is falling behind the rest of the country when it comes to tobacco control,” Dr Pesce said.

The Commonwealth Government has been ranked first among Australian governments for making the most progress on combating smoking during 2009/10.

Ahead of World No Tobacco Day on 31 May, AMA Federal President, Dr Andrew Pesce, today announced results of the AMA/Australian Council on Smoking and Health (ACOSH) National Tobacco Scoreboard.

The scoreboard allocates points to each State and Territory in various categories, including legislation, to track how effective governments have been at combating smoking in the previous 12 months. For the first time, this year the Commonwealth Government was considered as part of the same ranking process as State and Territory governments.

Presenting the award to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd at the AMA’s annual conference in Sydney, Dr Pesce said: “The Australian Government is to be congratulated on its comprehensive and determined approach, which will make Australia the world leader in tobacco control.

MJA media release -

The AMA today welcomed the decision by the Federal Government to introduce plain packaging for tobacco products from January 2012.

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said the AMA believed that mandating plain packaging of all tobacco products would be another effective action to encourage people to stop smoking or refrain from taking up the killer habit.

“In 2007-08, about 20 per cent of GP patients were daily smokers,” Dr Pesce said.

“Every day, doctors see a growing number of patients who are at high risk of serious diseases and premature death due to smoking.

“Smoking-related illnesses cost the Australian economy up to $5.7 billion a year in lost productivity.

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, today urged all Senators to back the Plain Labelling of Tobacco Packaging Bill, which was introduced into Parliament today by Senator Steve Fielding.

Dr Pesce said plain packaging for cigarettes, which carries strong warnings about the health risks of smoking, is AMA policy.

The growing number of Australians at risk of serious chronic diseases from obesity, smoking and excess alcohol use is a major health challenge facing Australia. This AMA Policy Brief, Preventing Obesity, Smoking and Excess Alcohol Use, summarises some key measures that the AMA believes should be given priority in a National Preventative Health Strategy, including support for the preventative role of doctors and implementation of a number of targeted community-level measures.

South Australia has the dubious distinction of receiving the AMA’s annual Dirty Ashtray Award for the Australian State or Territory that made the least progress on combating smoking during 2008.

AMA Federal President, Dr Rosanna Capolingua, today used the eve of World No Tobacco Day to announce the results of the AMA/Australian Council on Smoking on Health (ACOSH) National Tobacco Scoreboard.

The scoreboard allocates points to each State and Territory, over a number of categories, including legislation, to track how effective governments have been at combating smoking over the previous 12 months.

At the other end of the scale, Victoria was ranked as the best performer on the 2008 National Tobacco Control Scoreboard.

This submission responds to the options for prevention of obesity, smoking and harmful alcohol use that are explored in the National Preventative Health Taskforce discussion paper - Australia: The Healthiest Country by 2020. The submission emphasises the crucial role of doctors in providing preventative health care.

As Christmas approaches, the AMA is putting the challenge out to all smokers to give their family and friends the best present ever – quit smoking.

“Top of the list of gift ideas has got to be making a commitment to your family, and to yourself, to quit smoking in 2009,” said AMA President, Dr Rosanna Capolingua.