PEOPLE say "Don't judge a book by its cover". This is true of product packaging, especially tobacco products.

Most people (especialy adults) know that tobacco smoking is bad for health, but many find it difficult to stop the habit. To attract younger consumers, manufacturers promote smoking as an essential "accessory" to be seen as sophisticated or "cool". In this sense, the packaging is promoting a certain lifestyle, not the contents.

Packaging, reported online trade magazine Tobacco Asia, is an important medium for Korean consumers whereby manufacturers strive to create appealing designs in order to garner a larger market share. Various governments have banned cigarette advertising to discourage the idea that smoking is part of a sophisticated lifestyle which many young people find so attractive.

Manufacturers, however, get around this limitation by producing cigarette packaging that looks sophisticated or fresh (menthol cigarettes), with names such as "Zest". Obviously, for cigarette manufacturers, profit is paramount. The health effects of smoking cigarettes are not a priority. After all, it is the consumer's choice to buy and smoke.

As long as a person is over 18 tobacco smoking is a personal choice. Although we know that smoking tobacco can lead to fatalities, many still do so despite statistics that states it kills nearly six million people a year, said Dr Hjh Norlila Dato Paduka Hj Abdul Jalil, the Permanent Secretary (Professional and Technical) at the Ministry of Health during a workshop on "Plain Packaging of Tobacco Products" on Tuesday.

The idea of plain packaging, she said, is "rattling the tobacco industry's cage", which shows that packaging has a big role in boosting cigarette sales. With this workshop, it is hoped that participants, especially our legislators, can learn from Australia, the first country in the world to successfully introduce plain packaging on tobacco products.