Repealing Australia’s ban on smokeless tobacco? Hasten slowly

Chapman, Simon

doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.2008.tb01506.x

Topics

We need to be sure any introduction of smokeless tobacco will actually reduce overall harm

In the mid 1980s, I assisted in South Australia becoming the first Australian state to ban the sale of smokeless tobacco products.1 In 1991, the ban went national, effectively restricting access to small quantities imported for personal use. New Zealand and the European Union imposed similar bans, although in almost all other nations smokeless tobacco products are sold openly, with many also allowing advertising.

School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW.

Correspondence: sc@med.usyd.edu.au

Competing interests:

None identified.

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