Australia Introduces Health Warnings on Individual Cigarettes
Australia has implemented mandatory changes to cigarettes as part of the government’s efforts to ramp up health messaging over tobacco products. As of April 01/2025, Australia has become the second country in the world, after Canada, to introduce health warnings on individual cigarettes.
The warnings on cigarettes will feature phrases such as:
- “CAUSES 16 CANCERS,”
- “DAMAGES YOUR LUNGS,”
- “DAMAGES DNA.”
These changes are in addition to the introduction of 10 new graphic health warnings on cigarette packs and 10 new health promotion inserts inside packs.
The update to the Public Health (Tobacco and Other Products) Act 2023 aims to discourage smoking and the use of smoking products, encourage people to quit using tobacco products, and address the risks associated with vaping and e-cigarettes. The government has also begun phasing out menthol cigarettes and other flavored tobacco products.
Retailers have a three-month grace period to sell through stock that complies with the old legislation. Quit and Cancer Council have released a joint statement welcoming the changes, emphasizing that the health warnings on cigarettes effectively convey the risks and harms of smoking in an unavoidable manner, as the wording is placed on the filter, which does not burn down when someone smokes.
Alecia Brooks, Chair of Cancer Council’s Tobacco Issues Committee, praised Australia’s commitment to addressing the risks and harms of smoking. “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,” Brooks said.
Professor Sarah Durkin, Director of the Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer at Cancer Council Victoria, emphasized the importance of the new messaging, as the current warnings have become less effective over time. “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,” Durkin explained.
Despite Australia’s relatively low smoking prevalence, the country remains committed to addressing the lethal impact of tobacco use, with 66 Australians dying from smoking-related illnesses every day. The introduction of health warnings on individual cigarettes and the phasing out of flavored tobacco products demonstrate Australia’s ongoing efforts to protect public health and encourage smokers to quit.
- News source: Australia becomes just second country in the world to add health warnings to individual cigarettes
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