September 18, 2008 - In August, 2008 the Victorian Government - Australia released for comment the Tobacco Control Strategy 2008-2013. Submissions for consultation with health professionals, industry and the wider community must be received by today, Thursday, September 18, 2008.
One of the more controversial proposals is concerned with two options for point of sale bans: one is restricting displays to 1m square, the other is a total ban. Groups like 
Quit Victoria are needed to provide evidence in support of a total ban. The sticking point is how much it will cost small retailers to convert their displays if there is a total ban. As we know, the industry pays for most of the displays, but we need to try to find a retailer/s who will go on the record (anonymously if necessary) and state just how much the industry controls this space, including supplying all the display hardware. TobaccoWatch.org: besides the existing news brief library, provided supporting information to help achieve this goal such as comments from various tobacco company executives and a copy of the USA-Philip Morris retail leaders 2008 agreement. We even recommended tobacco control people assist retailers in converting existing displays. The State of Victoria is densely populated with approximately five million people with 70% of Victorians living in Melbourne and 11,000 retailers selling tobacco. Comment from Quit Victoria - thanks again for helping us in our work to counter the tobacco industry's tactics.
The neighboring State of New South Wales just approved total ban on tobacco displays in stores.
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