Category: Tobacco
-
Voices of Resistance: Youth, Culture, and the Fight Against the Tobacco and Nicotine Industry
Raglan Maddox and Danny Allende They playing with fire they gonna get burned Voice of resistance we standing firm They paid us in rations got smoke in our lungs Now we smoking the system the tables have turned From “Voices of Resistance” In April 2026, during Youth Week, a new…
-
Who’d benefit from tobacco tax changes?
Malcolm Baalman The hearings of the Senate inquiry into ‘The illegal tobacco crisis in Australia’ commenced Monday 4 May. The inquiry was proposed by federal Coalition senators late in 2025, and is due to report by 30 June 2026. Several government agencies and many public health groups have made submissions…
-
“Radical, or plain common sense?” Public health’s perennial question
Terry Slevin I was recently invited by ABC Radio Adelaide to talk about our policy asks ahead of the March 2026 state election. The invitation followed the release of our association’s South Australian Branch election platform on 13 February. The host of the Mornings programme, Rory McLaren, opened with a…
-
My battle to counter second-hand smoke in strata buildings in NSW
Alisa Vartuli Change often starts from the ground up, but meaningful and lasting change also requires leadership and collaborative action. Nowhere has this been clearer to me than in my own home. When my young family moved into a strata building, I never imagined we would face a health challenge…
-
Eight ANZJPH articles that made headlines in 2025
Hollie Harwood Each year over 1.1 million readers visit and download articles from the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health (ANZJPH). While our journal citations measure impact, they don’t capture one of ANZJPH’s unique strengths – the way that our evidence-based articles influence policy and practice, support advocacy,…
-
Playing the long game: 40 years of Quit
Thomas Kehoe Australia is lauded for its leadership in the global fight against tobacco. This is exemplified in passing new tobacco control interventions to tackle tobacco induced disease, which began on 1 July. Measures include graphic health warnings on cigarette packs and sticks, and a ban on menthol and other…
-
Recent promising developments in tobacco and vaping consumption
Malcolm Baalman The tobacco industry is running a targeted campaign to persuade the government to freeze or reverse the level of taxation on tobacco products, based around leveraging the existence of an illicit market into a political argument. There is nothing particularly recent or novel about the latest Australian campaign.…
-
Explainer: tobacco excise and illicit markets
Malcolm Baalman The tobacco retail industry is running a targeted campaign to persuade the federal government to freeze or reverse the level of taxation on tobacco products. Industry voices argue that Australian tobacco taxation is high by international standards, and that the decade of steady increases has boosted the illicit…
-
How language shapes the fight against the Tobacco Industry
Raglan Maddox, Michelle Scollo, Kylie Lindorff, and Melissa Jones Language is powerful. It shapes community perceptions as well as academic, media, and political narratives. Through this mechanism, it influences political appetite for particular programs and policies. The Tobacco Industry sells a product that is not only uniquely dangerous but also…
-
Can we eradicate commercial tobacco disease and death?
Raglan Maddox and Michelle Kennedy The commercial Tobacco Industry continues to profit off addiction, disease, and death, perpetuating health inequities. For over 70 years, we have known that when used as directed, commercial tobacco products kill. Australia has been a leader in tobacco control through plain packaging, tax reforms, and…
-
Calling time on tobacco vending machines
Dr Christina Watts, Dr Natalia Lizama and Professor Suzan Burton Many of us know someone who only smokes when they drink. Perhaps they’re a former smoker, are currently trying to quit, or only feel compelled to smoke when they’re at the pub. This isn’t merely anecdotal – there is strong evidence…
-
Parliament overhauls national tobacco law
Malcolm Baalman, Public Health Association of Australia Arguably the most important item of public health legislation to be addressed by our national Parliament in over a decade was finally approved by the Senate last week. The Public Health (Tobacco and Other Products) Bill 2023 is the result of a 4-year…
-
Fully revised tobacco law will put us back on target
By Malcolm Baalman Senior Policy and Advocacy Adviser, PHAA A major piece of public health legislation is making its way through Parliament this month. In November 2022, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the introduction of plain packaging in Australia, Minister for Health Mark Butler, announced that the Government would consolidate into…
-
It’s time for tobacco retailers to pay a higher fee
PHAA New research has prompted experts to call on all Australian Governments to adopt a higher standard of tobacco licensing regulation, including higher fees, to help drive down smoking rates. Tobacco licensing was changed significantly in South Australia in January 2007, when the annual cost of retail tobacco licences rose…
-
Advocacy strategies for advancing health in all policies: what works for trade policymaking?
Dr Belinda Townsend, Australian Research Centre for Health Equity, Australian National University, Ms Brigitte Tenni, School of Psychology and Population Health, La Trobe University & Nossal Institute for Global Health, University of Melbourne, Ms Sharni Goldman, Australian Research Centre for Health Equity, Australian National University & Associate Prof Deborah Gleeson,…
-
‘Sounds Like’ it’s time to quit smoking
Neeka Zamani, Cancer Council WA Editor’s note: In the first of a series of Western Australia-based blogs published on Intouch, Neeka Zamani from Cancer Council WA outlines the renewal of a campaign focused on ‘warning signs’ and smoking. Tobacco use is still the largest cause of preventable death and…
-
Cutting a path through the bush: the benefits of comprehensive measures
PHAA CEO, Adjunct Professor Terry Slevin Health Minister Mark Butler’s National Press Club address on 2 May 2023 was a watershed moment when it comes to public health in Australia. He announced a wide-ranging package of measures to tackle the public health scourge of tobacco and vaping. It included a…
-
On World No Tobacco Day, read an expert’s perspective on e-cigarettes
Editor’s note: Today, Wednesday 31 May, marks World No Tobacco Day. Yesterday, Associate Professor Michelle Jongenelis spoke before the Health and Environment Committee on their inquiry into reducing rates of e-cigarette use in Queensland. Read her opening statement below. Associate Professor Michelle Jongenelis Thank you for the opportunity to appear…
-
Why the ban on single use e-cigarettes is good for EVs
Vincent So, CEO, the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand As part of the Federal Budget, Health Minister Mark Butler announced a ban on the importation of single use e-cigarettes (vapes), non-prescription e-cigarettes, and the sale of e-cigarettes outside of pharmacies. There has already been significant coverage on e-cigarette…
-
‘A buzz of excitement’: Prof Jacquie Bowden gives wrap up of Preventive Health Conference 2023
Image: Members of the Prevention 2023 Conference Advisory Committee. Top row L-R: Stephanie Kilpatrick, Mary Brushe, Stephen Harfield, Prof Jacquie Bowden. Bottom row L-R: Prof James Smith, Erin Bowen, Adj Prof Terry Slevin, Christine Morris, Laurianne Reinsborough, Dr Anna Chevalier. Professor Jacquie Bowden, Chair of the Preventive Health Conference…
-
Aotearoa provides guidance on the next phase of tobacco control measures in Australia: more of the same is not enough
Dr Raglan Maddox, Catherine Manning, Prof Raymond Lovett, Assoc Prof Lisa Whop, Selah Hart, Dr Michelle Kennedy, Assoc Prof El-Shadan Tautolo, Shane Kawenata Bradbrook, Prof Tom Calma AO and Anaru Waa What is Aotearoa/New Zealand doing? Māori in Aotearoa/New Zealand were among the first to call for a Tupeka Kore (tobacco…
-
‘Dispelling the smoke to reflect the mirror’: the time is now to eliminate tobacco related harms
Helen Tran, PHAA Intern A recently published commentary by Maddox et al in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health highlights the opportunity that has presented itself for a “smoke free future” and nicotine free generations. A future which is looking more possible with Australia’s recent Consultation Draft…
-
No butts about stopping tobacco damaging the environment
On this World No Tobacco Day, we remember another victim of the tobacco industry – the environment Dr Michelle I Jongenelis, University of Melbourne, Dr Sarah L White, Quit Victoria, and Kate Noble, WWF Australia May 31st marks World No Tobacco Day. An initiative of the World Health Organization, World No…
-
An election campaign bereft of prevention efforts that could save lives: Daube
Emeritus Professor Mike Daube AO, PHAA President (2007-2010) Another day, another election spending announcement. Both major parties are promising funding for all manner of purposes – billions for national programs, millions for local projects – even $4.5 million for a Tasmanian distillery. In recent times politicians from all reputable parties…
-
Public health measures can help balance the Budget
Adjunct Professor Terry Slevin – PHAA CEO This post is the second in our series of articles exploring the PHAA’s 2022-23 pre-Budget submission, The Public Health Crisis Budget. Read the first post here. Government revenue, primarily gathered through taxes, is and always has been, a fundamentally political issue. Governments need…
-
Powerful pair recognised for decades of persistence at tobacco control
Paris Lord – PHAA Editor’s note: this Intouch post is longer than usual, but is worth your time, particularly if you can remember how ubiquitous smoking and its advertising was in Australia, and the efforts it took to counter that. It’s New Year’s Day 1992. Ascot race course, Perth.…
-
Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia ‘get-tough’ against vaping as new ANZJPH report shows widespread use in Kiwi schools
Jeremy Lasek – PHAA It’s now just over 100 days since Australia introduced strict new laws which mean you can no longer buy nicotine vaping products without a doctor’s prescription. Apart from pharmacies dispensing nicotine vaping to patients with a prescription, it’s illegal for any other Australian retailers, including vape…
-
Despite a downward trend, smoking is still taking too many Australian lives
Jeremy Lasek – PHAA While the prevalence of smoking has steadily declined (by 75%) in the last 40 years in Australia, it still contributes to around 20,000 deaths a year – that’s 20 times more than the number of deaths on our roads. Tobacco is also the leading cause of…
-
PHAA recognises our 2021 Emerging Leader, e-cigarette expert, Dr Michelle Jongenelis
How often do we hear this response? When we asked the winner of the PHAA’s Emerging Leader Award for 2021, Dr Michelle Jongenelis, why she chose a career in public health, her immediate response was “public health chose me!’’ Michelle’s public health journey began in 2014, but what she may…
-
This ain’t no ‘puff piece’: John Safran takes aim at Philip Morris and doesn’t miss
Jeremy Lasek – PHAA John Safran has made a career out of probing society’s fringes for satire. Now the perpetual provocateur takes on the biggest cigarette company on the planet. Three years ago, tobacco giant Philip Morris shocked the world when it announced it was moving away from cigarettes and…