International Business Report: Australian Tobacco Packaging

This report examines the international business implications of Australia's Tobacco Plain Packaging Act of 2011. It explores the health issues associated with tobacco consumption, highlighting the link between smoking and cancer, and the financial burden on the healthcare system. The report analyzes the Australian government's initiative to implement plain tobacco packaging to reduce smoking rates. It also discusses the legal challenges and potential impact on developing countries that rely on the tobacco industry. The report references key studies and articles that support the analysis, providing a comprehensive overview of the issue and its relevance to international business and public health. The analysis concludes that the initiative is primarily a health issue aimed at improving the well-being of the Australian population, even though it may affect the tobacco industry and its international trade. The report also includes a discussion of the impact of the regulations on cigarette packaging and marketing.

Running head: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
International Business
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Ans a: The given case study is about the health issue and not a trade issue. Tobacco and smoking
is the leading reason of causing cancer. In Australia, approximately 15, 000 people die from
smoking-related issues per year and are expected to spend an estimated budget of AUD $31
million in health expenses. The initiative of plain tobacco packaging is aimed towards enhancing
the health of the Australian population (Mathews et al., 2013). Keeping in mind the health issues
of the population, the Australian Government has enacted the Tobacco Plain Packaging Act in
2011. According to the Act, the tobacco companies are prohibited from using marketing
materials that include company logos, labels, and trademark on the cigarette packets (Liberman,
2013). The laws are aimed to make the cigarette packets unattractive in the hope that few people
will buy and smoke a cigarette. This is an initiative undertaken by the Australian government to
minimize the consumption of cigarette and tobacco. Post implementation of the law by the
Australian government, the cigarette packaging in done unattractively (Mitchell & Studdert,
2012).
The Australian government is highly concerned with the health of the population, as
diseases such as cancer affect the majority of the population. The youth of the country is highly
fascinated by the packaging of the cigarettes. Therefore, the new Act is implemented by the
Australian government with the aim of minimizing of purchase rate of tobacco and smoking by
the population. Majority of the population is suffering cancer due to smoking that is hampering
the country and its future. (Fooks & Gilmore, 2014). However, the developing countries that rely
on the tobacco industry and exports tobacco will be severely hampered, as the rate of tobacco
consumption will decrease. Therefore, the initiative taken and implemented by the Australian
government is more of a health issue that needs to be controlled for the betterment of the
country.

2INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
References
Fooks, G., & Gilmore, A. B. (2014). International trade law, plain packaging and tobacco
industry political activity: the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Tobacco control, 23(1), e1-e1.
Liberman, J. (2013). Plainly constitutional: the upholding of plain tobacco packaging by the
High Court of Australia. American journal of law & medicine, 39(2-3), 361-381.
Mathews, J. D., Forsythe, A. V., Brady, Z., Butler, M. W., Goergen, S. K., Byrnes, G. B., ... &
McGale, P. (2013). Cancer risk in 680 000 people exposed to computed tomography
scans in childhood or adolescence: data linkage study of 11 million Australians. Bmj,
346, f2360.
Mitchell, A. D., & Studdert, D. M. (2012). Plain packaging of tobacco products in Australia: a
novel regulation faces legal challenge. Jama, 307(3), 261-262.