Blowing smoke

• Mike Smith
• 9 years ago
• Categories: David Farrar, Dirty Politics, dpf, Tobacco
• Tags: Plain packaging, tobacco lobby

You have to wonder if David Farrar is also being paid by the smoking lobby to attack plain packaging – he posts on it frequently. His latest quotes Australian research which the Melbourne Age describes as pushed by the smoking lobby. The post also  links to and misrepresents the views of New Zealand researchers.

Here’s what Farrar says about the New Zealand research

Also even Otago University seems very doubtful on whether plain packaging will reduce smoking rates. In a blog post here, four researchers put plain packaging in a category of “Uncertain but possible” impact for achieving the NZ smokefree goal.

Here’s what the researchers actually said:

We also suggest that of the state-of-the-art interventions detailed, plain packaging at least should also be implemented in the light of the very promising findings about its impact in Australia (see this blog post), and its advanced stage in NZ’s legislative process.

According to the Age, “a co-ordinated assault just ahead of the review of plain packaging laws is emerging, with the Australian Retailers Association on Wednesday also labelling the laws a “waste of retailer’s time and resources”. Looks to me like Farrar has been co-ordinated into the assault – would be good to know if he or Curiablog was also being paid for it.