Nudge? More like a shove for Aussie smokers!

Here is an example of a government prepared to make tough decisions on the marketing of a de-merit good - a strong alternative to the default option of simply raising the duty (tax) on consumption in real terms. The Australian government has introduced what it thinks are the strongest laws controlling the sale and display of cigarettes in the world - it will be fascinating to see how this impacts on consumption among different age groups. Logos are banned, a large area of each packet must show cancerous tumours and the health effects of tobacco. And they are taking nudge to a new level by insisting that the colour of each packet is one that in surveys, smokers have found to be least attractive.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that smoking kills 15,000 Australians a year and costs the community about $31.5 billion annually. Over the last twenty years the smoking rate in Australia has halved but the government now wants to reduce it still further to 10%. The move is being contested by the multinational cigarette manufacturers who claim that the proposed restrictions infringe international trademark and intellectual property laws.

Read: Australian anti-smoking laws to be ‘toughest in world’ See also The Independent: Australia’s cigarette war over shocking pack rules and David Prosser: When will big tobacco decide to give up?