Activists Propose Prescription Sales for Cigarettes

The Center for Research Excellence on Achieving the Tobacco Endgame (CREATE) wants Australia to reduce the number of tobacco retailers, restrict sales to outlets such as pharmacies and consider making cigarettes available on prescription only.

“An effective tobacco endgame strategy should accelerate the decline in smoking prevalence while assisting governments, retailers and people who smoke to transition to a smoke-free society,” Coral Gartner, director of CREATE, was quoted as saying by 9News.

Researchers also suggested ending sales to people born after a specified year and phasing out commercial cigarette sales.

Department of Health figures showed about 2.3 million people smoke tobacco daily in Australia—less than 15 percent of adults. The federal government aims to reduce that figure to 10 percent by 2025.

Smoking prevalence has been declining at an average rate of about 0.4 percent per year since 2010.

Australia is a global tobacco control leader and has been at the cutting edge of many new policies, including plain packaging.