So, This is a news artical I've stumbled across this morning. I thought it would be interesting to see what people had to say about it; especially because every time the issue of smoking/non-smoking comes up within my circle of friends - it becomes a very heated debate. There's the smokers who are proud to be smokers, the smokers who don't want to be smokers, the non-smokers who don't like smokers and the non-smokers who couldn't care less.

I fall into the last one of those. I'm a non-smoker, I've never touched a cigarette in my life (except when my parents or boyfriends asked me to hide the packs so they can't smoke), I have never had any desire to smoke, and I probably never will - I don't care if people smoke, so long as it doesn't....affect me. Unless they walk up to me and literally blow smoke in my face...I don't care. Or alternatively..if someone comes up and shoves a cigarette in my mouth - then I'll probably have a few things to say about it.

It does upset me, because in my immediate family (there's 4 of us) I'm the only non-smoker...that doesn't upset me...what upsets me is that I've had family members die or have serious health complications of smoking related problems...cancer and so on.

ANYWAY I'm digressing...the article I found is located below. Tell me what your thoughts are. Smokers - how do you feel about this? I don't think changing a packaging will make you say "OH hell! I should quit right now!"

Source: http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/latest/7123887/cigarette-changes-will-save-lives/

A federal government plan to insist upon plain packaging for cigarettes will save lives, health groups say.

The government will announce on Thursday plans to bring in new laws making plain packaging compulsory for cigarettes and other tobacco products by January 1, 2012.

Cancer Council Australia chief executive Ian Olver said the move would stop some people smoking and cut cancer rates. It would make Australia a world leader in reducing tobacco deaths, he said.

"Tobacco companies cleverly tailor product packaging to attract people to the pack and send a message to smokers about the personality of the consumer," Prof Olver said.

He said health warnings would be more prominent without other patterns on the packaging.

Quit praised the "gutsy" plan and said it would hamper the recruitment of new smokers.

With advertisement of cigarettes already banned, packaging was serving as the main way to lure people into the habit, according to Quit's executive director Fiona Sharkie.

"By adopting plain packaging we can stop the tobacco industry from using the pack to recruit new smokers and promote their deadly and addictive products," she said.

(Basically....if it's not clear to you...there will be no brand name, no information, nothing, apparently - all that will be on there, will be one of those icky pictures they have on the boxes at moment - pictures of brain clots or diseased lungs...but thats all...a picture of something icky and that's it)

Kind of stupid if you ask me. They put nasty pictures on ours here and it hasn't stopped anyone that I know.

I used to smoke when I was at university. I loved it. But it is a very expensive habit in this country. Thankfully I don't have an addictive personality and was able to quit my ten a day habit at the drop of a hat (which is why it pisses me off that the NHS do quit smoking helplines and all this bullshit. I know everyone's different but if you want to stop smoking, JUST DON'T SMOKE! Sheesh.)

Now I am the type that smokes if I am horribly drunk and somebody offers me one.

you mean like porn pictures porn on the boxes, that kind of nasty?

seems like some would be embarrassed to bu porn. but didn't work eh, or wrong type of nasty? lol

I think she means like blackened lungs/hearts on the packaging to help deter ppl from smoking. I think I've heard of those....

awe, makes more sense, thx. I've seen the ones that are called DEATH, but i think they looked cool,lol

Pretty much all of them over here have those sort of images on them.

Haha, no pictures of disease lungs and shit like that.

ohhhh ty

Yeeeeah I tried that. XD Took 1 drag of a cig while drunk and then proceeded to scream into the phone (drunk dialed a boy I had a 1 night stand w/ xD) that it made my tits hurt. xD I meant my lungs but drunkie me looked down and saw tits (b/c that's where it hurt) XD.

I want to see the cigarette packages that have nasty pictures on them. I've never heard of it before. But I don't think it is going to do anything. I mean smokers don't smoke because what's on the damn package, they smoke because it makes them feel good & relieves stress (in my case anyways). Believe me, I'm an EX smoker. I didn't quit because of what the government thought I should do or what was put on my package of cigarettes I stopped smoking because I want to live a healthier life & be with my daughter as many years as I can.

Here are some examples:

I probably would not buy the packages with a child breathing in smoke or the one with a nasty ass tumor looking thing on the guy's neck. Just because I wouldn't want to see that image every time I went to get a cig. But when I was a smoker I'd probably just buy the one with the cigarette or the dead person on there. I guess now I can see how it MIGHT affect a smoker not to buy them. But then again, they would probably do just what I would have done & buy a different pack without the image on there if it bothered them.

Ahh but you don't have a choice. I don't know how you buy cigs over there, but here there are in a kiosk and the person working there just pulls out the top one for you.

Over here you tell them what brand and package you want and they pull it down for you. When I was a little girl until about the age of 9 or so you used to be able to put money in a machine and buy them from there! lol Kinda like buying from the snack machine at college lol Were those pictures you posted on all brands or just one particular?

No, all brands have them on. Yeah ours work like that too. We used to have cigarette machines in pubs and clubs but I believe they are being phased out. They used to overcharge anyway.

That's kinda like me. I used to smoke for awhile, but I stopped for the most part.

I only light up a cig or a clove whenever I'm out.

TL;DR: Social Smoker.

I know for the U.S. they banned "flavored" cigarettes and shit last year, and all the boxes have to have mandatory warnings and such. I don't think a law like this would fly very well over here because of how large the companies are and the lobbying that goes on for them.

Do you know how many times I tell my mother, who has been a smoker since she was 15, that her lungs are char-grilled like the steak she eats and it doesn't stop her. Or the fact that my husband lost his father to emphysema when he was 12 (his dad was only 62). Or that she can get cancer in her lungs or tongue. Or be one of those people with voice boxes in their necks because they smoked so much they needed tracheotomies.

Showing people pictures won't stop everyone. My husband quit 3 years ago but he had to do it because he wanted to. Personally I think its a nasty unhealthy habit but who am I to force someone who likes doing it no matter the consequences to their health to quit? As long as I don't have to breathe that shit in.

My mother-in-law used to bring my husband back 2 cartons of cigarettes from England. They come with large signs on the packs telling people that "smoking kills"...putting labels or pictures on the boxes won't do anything but state the obvious. They know but they don't care. They want to smoke, they're going to smoke.

I agree completely. A person has to quit because THEY want too. Personally, when someone would start bitching at me that I needed to quit I just wanted to have another cigarette. ;D But after a lot of thought I told myself I needed to do it for not only me but for my daughter too. A person has got to have an initiative to do it & trying to scare them with pictures on a cigarette pack or people bitching them out over it is not going to do a bit of help.

Agree. You can't make some one quit. I won't quit smoking unless I want to.

I don't smoke anywhere near my daughter - EVER - & I only have 3 to 4 a day now. I think I mostly want them when I'm hungry but don't have time to eat, or because I'm stressed. I have a small case of anxiety & smoking calms me down faster then anything else I've tried, ha.

I'd actually beg to differ on that.

I forced my dad to quit.
He was hospitalized after he got blood clots in his leg (un-related to smoking.) and he was on bed rest for a week.

I refused to give him his cigarettes, threw the ones he had out, and wouldn't get more.
And considering he wasn't allowed to drive for the next month, he really didn't have much of a choice.
He was done smoking ;D

I know he was pretty much incapacitated, but it counts!
He didn't go buy more when he was done, so my evil plan worked.

Two years smoke free for my dad. Yay!

LOL, well that works! :] I quit when I got pregnant, but I was stupid & started again one night while I was drinking, then just didn't quit. :/

At least you quit while pregnant though.

I knew this one chick, who stood right in front of me, 6 months pregnant and was chain smoking.
I was so pissed off that I said "you're really brave." She asked me why. And I said "after having to help my sister hold down my niece to have steroid breathing treatments at a month old, because her lungs were under-developed because my sister smoked while she was pregnant with her, I'd be scared shitless of smoking while pregnant."

It was kind of worth it to see her cry.

Lol, I'm so mean when it comes to standing up for the babies ;D

LOL! That's awesome though. I think I smoked once or twice before Ella was born, but that was it. I couldn't do it anymore than that. Just my personal opinion, though.

Before my niece, I was like whatever people can do what they want.

It's too heart-wrenching to have to hold a newborn still to put a breathing mask on her, and have to listen to her cough because of it.
I don't ever want to have to see that again. Ever.