Quit has rolled out its latest reboot of an industry manipulation campaign, alerting Victorians to tobacco industry tactics that seek to addict them and in turn risk causing them significant harm by smoking.
The announcement comes as a new survey shows rising rates of smoking and vaping in Victoria, with an estimated 15.5 per cent of the Bass Coast population currently smoking (see separate story).
The campaign, The Con that Kills, features ads describing the multitude of ways the tobacco industry manipulates its customers. For examples, cigarette filters aerate the smoke that people inhale, making it seem 'smoother' and less 'harsh', while humectants added to dried tobacco in roll your own pouches make the tobacco leaves seem more 'fresh and natural'.
Findings from the Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer at Cancer Council Victoria, revealed that most people who smoke (73 per cent) are not aware that tobacco companies mix in additives that hide the harshness of the smoke.
Quit Director, Rachael Andersen, said despite the devastating health impacts of smoking, the tobacco industry continues to evolve to attract new customers.
"Smoking is the only product that, when used as directed by the manufacturer, kills two in three lifetime users. Any product alterations that hide the true dangers of smoking ought to be called out, and that's what we're doing. This is the tobacco industry's con that kills. And we want it to stop."
CEO of VicHealth, Dr Sandro Demaio, said consumers deserved to know the truth about the deadly products they're buying and inhaling.
"We're proud to partner on this campaign that emphasises the sneaky and manipulative tactics used by the tobacco industry, empowering people to make fully informed decisions about their health. This campaign serves as a critical reminder that tobacco still kills more than 20,000 Australians every year," Dr Demaio said.
CEO of Cancer Council Victoria, Todd Harper AM, concluded it is vital that tobacco control campaigns and policy reforms work together and remain a public health priority, while tobacco remains Australia's single largest cause of preventable death.
Mr Harper said that the tobacco industry's relentless approach to product manipulation was especially disappointing considering most people who smoke indicate a desire to quit.
"We have a responsibility to do everything we can as a community to help people who smoke to stop, and to support them to do so. Instead, we continue to see deadly products with hidden tricks manufactured by an industry desperate to find new customers to harm."
The Con that Kills campaign will run in Victoria until Sunday December 7.
