New Zealand branded cigarettes provoke outrage
A report in The Press in NZ says that anti-smoking groups are outraged at the sale of duty-free cigarettes emblazoned with the brand name ‘New Zealand’ and featuring the silver fern on their packaging.The Smokefree Coalition and Te Reo Marama (Maori Smokefree Coalition) are calling for immediate withdrawal of the cigarettes, available at some duty-free stores.
The black-and-silver packaged cigarettes are made in Luxembourg, but bear the silver fern with the tag line “luxuriously mild cigarettes”.
Te Reo Marama director Shane Kawenata Bradbrook discovered the cigarettes while returning from a trip abroad saying, it is unclear which company is marketing the product.
He said it was outrageous the silver fern – worn by top sportspeople such as the All Blacks, Silver Ferns and New Zealand Olympians – was connected to a product that caused illness and premature death.
Tourism NZ CEO George Hickton said the organisation, which markets New Zealand overseas, was not happy with the use of the fern on the packet.
Mr Hickton said Tourism NZ was looking at whether there were any legal channels that could be pursued to stop the use of the fern.
However, he said, while the use of the fern image on cigarettes was regrettable because of its associations with New Zealand, it was not expected to do any long-term damage to New Zealand’s image overseas.
Smokefree Coalition director Mark Peck said the cigarettes were a deceitful attempt to exploit New Zealand’s image, adding, “This association of our nation’s positive attributes with poisonous and addictive cigarettes is despicable.
“Describing them as `luxuriously mild’ further peddles the lie that so-called mild cigarettes are somehow better for you.”
Both groups agreed the World Health Organisation’s framework convention on tobacco should halt the sale of duty-free cigarettes.
Massey University marketing professor Janet Hoek said the brand could harm New Zealand’s image, adding, “Packaging is incredibly important for the tobacco industry as they’re not allowed to advertise or give sponsorship.”
Report by The Mole and The Press
John Alwyn-Jones
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