New hard stance on smoking

CANBERRA - Australia is preparing for a final assault on smokers with a package of proposed measures that would push the cost of a single cigarette past A70c and completely ban all tobacco advertising and sponsorships.

Smokes would come in plain packets covered by graphic health messages.

Federal legislation being considered follows a steady toughening of laws in all states that include on-the-spot fines in Tasmania, South Australia and New South Wales for drivers who light up with children in the car.

In Tasmania that applies to passengers up to 18 years old.

Western Australia will soon follow suit.

A new federal clampdown will follow a report by the federal preventative healthy taskforce, which is planning several strategies to make Australia the "world's healthiest country".

Canberra is considering harsh measures outlined in the task force's discussion paper on smoking, which warned that if trends continued more than 14 per cent of Australians would still be daily smokers by 2020 and remain at close to 10 per cent well past 2070.

More than 900,000 people had been killed by tobacco since the dangers of smoking became known in 1950, and the social cost to the nation ran at more than A$31 billion ($38 billion) a year.

The task force said that if the prevalence of smoking could be cut to 9 per cent or less by 2020, smoking would continue to decline until it vanished from the horizon of the nation's major health issues.

This would require a dramatic reduction in the numbers of children taking up the habit and a doubling of the percentage of smokers trying to quit.

The measures being considered by federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon include the 9 per cent target for 2020, which would reduce the number of smokers over the age of 14 by one million.

Among the toughest moves is a proposed increase in excise and customs duty of more than 20 per cent - pushing the price of a packet of 30 cigarettes above A$20 - and a crackdown on evasion of duties.

Corporate branding would be banned from cigarette packages, forcing cigarettes to be sold in plain packets with at least 95 per cent of the front and back covered by graphic health warnings.

Existing laws on tobacco advertising would be extended to cover new forms of media, and ban internet sales and tobacco displays in shops.

Federal laws already outlaw smoking in Commonwealth Government buildings, airports, aircraft and other public transport.

Across the nation, state laws ban smoking in enclosed public places - except the Northern Territory, which will banish cigarettes from clubs and pubs from next year.

Queensland has cracked down further, with bans on smoking in all workplaces, clubs and restaurants and major public venues such as sporting stadiums and children's playgrounds.

Bans on smoking on beaches also cover the Queensland coast and have been imposed by local councils in other states, including at Bondi and Manly.