Picture a cigarette packet in your head. What’s the first thing that springs to mind? The gory health warnings? Probably not. If you have ever smoked, then no doubt an image of your preferred brand immediately pops in to your head. Even nonsmokers can easily describe the sleek and eye catching packages that expertly disguise the cancer sticks nestled inside.
Even though cigarette advertising has long been banned in many nations, cigarette packages themselves serve as mini portable billboards. Every time a cigarette pack is fished out of a handbag or laid out on table it says something about the smoker. These highly stylized packages reassure us that cigarettes are enjoyable, fun, sophisticated or perhaps even safe.
Maybe you’re not convinced that a cigarette pack can do all that. Watch this video and your mind might just be changed:
In December 2012, Australia is set to become the first country in the world to require that all cigarette packs be sold in plain standardised packaging. There is no single policy that is the magic silver bullet that will see smoking rates plummet to zero overnight. But plain packaging is yet another nail in the coffin for this deceptive industry.