Youth smoking: Cigarette companies win victory in Australia

The Australian state of Tasmania rejected a bill in late March 2021 that would have raised the legal age of sale of tobacco and nicotine products to those under 21. As Australian tobacco control researcher Kathryn Barnsley points out, this outcome was the result of lobbying efforts orchestrated by cigarette companies.[1].

The 2018 bill aimed to gradually raise the age limit for the purchase of tobacco and e-cigarettes. While Tasmania has the second highest smoking rate in Australia (17%), the new legislation would have made it one of the first jurisdictions in the world to adopt one of the strictest global jurisdictions, alongside Singapore and all states in the United States. Instead, the Tasmanian government opted to implement an education campaign, marking a major victory for the tobacco industry, as it was not binding on them.

A favourable context in Tasmania

This proposal, however, found support from the main public health organisations in Tasmania, as well as those in other states, such as the Tobacco 21 – Preventing Tobacco Addiction Foundation. In parallel, a number of studies have been provided by these organisations, in order to demonstrate the positive social and economic impact of the implementation of such a measure on the territory. The Tasmanian Public Health Act 1997 specifically prohibits tobacco manufacturers from "providing […] false information concerning legislation", or "providing false information relating to the effects of tobacco products on health"[2]. As a result, this regulatory provision constrains the tobacco industry, which can only conduct its public relations campaigns in Tasmania through third parties.

The tobacco industry's response through front groups

In particular, retail organisations and e-cigarette advocacy groups campaigned heavily against the bill, with the latter using the “harm reduction” argument. However, as Kathryn Barnsley points out, links between a public relations firm commissioned by Philip Morris International and the Australian Harm Reduction Association have been exposed. Opponents of the bill have also held meetings with parliamentarians, and relayed to them the arguments usually put forward by tobacco companies. In particular, front groups, in opposing the ban on the sale of tobacco and e-cigarettes to under-21s, have argued that such a measure would be ineffective, that it would have unintended adverse effects, or that it would undermine consumer choice.

[1] Kathryn Barnsley, Tobacco Control, Australia: Big Tobacco wins in defeat of T21 age bill, 02/04/2021, (accessed 07/04/2021)

[2] Tasmanian Government, Public Health Act 1997, (accessed 04/07/2021)