The plain packaging story has attracted public attention in a way even its most ardent supporters would have found hard to credit at the outset.

At its simplest, the story is one of the public good against commercial evil – governments and health authorities introducing an evidence-based measure in the face of ferocious opposition from a lethal and discredited, but still powerful industry. But the story has much more than this. It has heroes and villains, political chicanery, legal cases in the High Court and international tribunals, global companies promoting their claims through front groups, research versus junk science, attempts to distract and disrupt the processes of government, smear campaigns, shadowy lobbyists, battles for media hearts and headlines, and dire warnings about Chinese criminal gangs.

While most of the tobacco industry’s claims and predictions have been duly discredited, its greatest concern – the domino effect – has been justified. Once even one country with a population of 23 million showed that plain packaging could be implemented, others would see it as something feasible. It is clearly now only a matter of time before, like tobacco advertising bans and measures to protect non-smokers from passive smoking, plain packaging is introduced in other countries – always of course opposed by the tobacco industry with ever-increasing desperation.

Nobody is better placed to tell the story than Simon Chapman and his colleague and co-author Becky Freeman, and they do so with a splendidly readable mix of information, anecdote, science, passion and humour. They take us from the origins of plain packaging through to all the processes and political activity that led to its introduction, while also providing thorough analyses of both the science around packaging and the tobacco industry’s own internal and external positions, machinations and skullduggery.

As they emphasise, plain packaging was not intended as a single magic bullet to end all smoking overnight; rather it is the next and most logical step in a comprehensive approach to end tobacco promotion and to reduce smoking over time, with a special focus on children and young people. But as they also note, the international tobacco industry’s frenetic and aggressive response – more ferocious than any of us can remember over any issue in several decades – provides ample confirmation of the importance the tobacco companies attach to their capacity to promote through packaging to adults and children alike.

So what have we learned from the plain packaging story?

First and foremost, we have learned that this powerful and ruthless industry can be defeated, even on an issue that it clearly sees as being of fundamental importance for its long-term survival.

Second, political leadership and integrity can trump cynical commercial interest. The authors rightly laud Nicola Roxon, Australia’s pioneering health minister and attorney general, to whom they dedicate their book. She saw prevention as a priority, recognised the importance of further action on tobacco, implemented comprehensive approaches, backed plain packaging – and drove it through, despite immense and often vicious industry opposition. Legislation cannot happen without legislators: for me, as for Chapman and Freeman, Nicola Roxon is simply the best and most courageous minister for prevention Australia has seen. As they further point out, the legislation went through with cross-party backing, since confirmed by the incoming Coalition government: credit is properly paid to the then Opposition for treating this as a health issue rather than a political football, and to some of its MPs, notably Dr Mal Washer, for their staunch support.

Third, tobacco companies are increasingly, in the Australian vernacular, ‘on the nose’. Their lies and deceptions over decades have created an environment in which media, politicians and the community simply do not believe what they say. Their lack of credibility is compounded by increasing difficulty in finding anyone willing to be associated with them, or even people of high calibre who want to work for an industry whose products kill one in two regular users. One must wonder if some of the industry’s remarkable own goals (such as blatantly ridiculous assertions about illicit sales, or expecting that ‘astroturfing’ would not be exposed) would have occurred in earlier decades when they had smarter, classier leaders and executives.

Fourth, public health coalitions can work well and cohesively towards a common goal. The coalition in support of plain packaging was both organised and instinctive, with wonderful support not only from core tobacco control groups, but also a wide range of health and community organisations. It is not surprising that those working in other areas of public health look to tobacco control as an advocacy model.

Fifth, sound research and a strong evidence base underpin both good public health policy and effective advocacy. Australia has been blessed with outstanding tobacco researchers for many years; the authors rightly identify Melanie Wakefield and Michelle Scollo as stellar researchers who live in the real world and understand its needs, while maintaining a constant focus on academic rigour and integrity.

As an author, Simon Chapman is inevitably constrained in describing to the full his own massive contributions. Simon has, of course, created a unique niche – he is not only an outstanding and creative advocate, teacher, editor, prolific author and media commentator, but also a leading researcher who has made many important contributions to tobacco control literature over many years. It was Simon who proposed plain packaging as a major recommendation for the Australian National Preventative Health Taskforce after work he and others had done in this area; he was a crucial figure in the activity that led to its implementation; he has tirelessly pursued and exposed the industry’s deceitful counter-arguments; and he deserves even further credit for following up with this book, as well as so much other invaluable work in tobacco control. His example should inspire other public health academics to understand that the roles of researcher and campaigner can be combined to exceptional effect.

Sixth, while this battle has been won, it is a battle in a war that began 64 years ago with the BMJ (1) and JAMA (2) reports by Doll and Hill and Wynder and Graham demonstrating the lethal consequences of smoking beyond any doubt. The global battle will continue as long as there is a commercial tobacco industry, and as long as its leaders – board members and chief executives – remain personally untouched by the literally millions of deaths that their actions have caused. In Australia, the battle must continue, to avoid complacency and to ensure that governments support the continuing action that is needed to complement plain packaging.

So while this book tells a great story, it is also an important text for any who are interested in how good public health policy is developed and implemented, or whoe are interested in the art and science of public health advocacy. There should be no illusions about the obstacles entailed in taking on massive global industries. Chapman and Freeman offer encouragement that, given persistence, good science, research-based recommendations, skilled advocacy and perhaps above all, politicians with integrity, the public good can indeed prevail.

Mike Daube AO

Professor of Health Policy

Curtin University

President, Australian Council on Smoking and Health (ACOSH)