Anger at latest smoking cover-up

An appalled Health Ministry is fuming about the sale of covers designed to shield smokers from gruesome new images on cigarette packets.

Called Kuverz, they are already used in Australia, where the images of mouth tumours and gangrenous toes caused by cancer have been emblazoned across cigarette packets for several years.

The covers are also available in Canada.

In New Zealand, the graphic images came into effect in February, with all cigarette packets required to have the visual warnings by September.

Hamilton dairy owner YouLi Zhang said an NZ Tobacco Group representative offered the packet covers to her this week to trial.

So far no customers had bought the $1.50 covers, but she expected they might become popular.

"Not many people know about them just yet," she said. "The packet is ugly and customers don't like the pictures. But they can't give up smoking, so they might buy them."

She thinks the cover would last only a few weeks.

Health Ministry public health chief adviser Ashley Bloomfield said the covers were appalling.

"Does this mean the New Zealand Tobacco Group is happy to shield children from learning about the risks of smoking in the hope they won't be put off taking up the habit?

"The whole reason for pictorial warnings is to provide accurate information to smokers about the risks of smoking ... It is hugely disappointing that one company is now deliberately and blatantly trying to prevent smokers from receiving more accurate information about the deadliness of the habit."

He said the covers were not illegal. They had not proven popular in Australia and were unlikely to be a big revenue generator for their maker.

NZ Tobacco Group managing director Malcolm Cameron said the covers, an Australian product, had been in New Zealand for about six months but had been used in Australia and South Africa for much longer.

He thought they would prove popular. "I would imagine that people don't want to look at those pictures."

He said the covers were also a way of keeping children from seeing the shocking warnings or of keeping the potential deadliness of the habit under wraps in social situations.

Tobacco companies would receive a share of the $1.50 cost of each cover sold.