Would health warnings printed on individual cigarettes help reduce the harm caused by smoking in New Zealand?
Canada will become the first nation to introduce the measure — but one expert doesn't think it'll make a significant difference.
ASH NZ director Ben Youdan told Breakfast this morning: "Everything's a nudge towards quitting, and this is another nudge."
"But I think smokers know by now, they've been bombarded with decades of science and messaging.
"Smoking is really, really bad for you, they know it's no good for them, but what keeps people coming back is often the addiction — so I don't think it's a measure that's gonna necessarily reduce smoking rates in Canada."
There's evidence that picture warnings on packets dissuade people from taking up smoking, Youdan said.
"It looks nasty, and it's taken away the branding and the elements that associated it with lifestyle," he said.
"But the sticks is another level, the sticks have never really been much of a marketing tool."
He expects the impact of the individually labelled cigarettes to be "relatively minor".
"I would say compared to Canada, we're definitely a world leader in what's going on in smoking," Youdan said.
"I don't think we need [individually labelled cigarettes], to be honest."
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