Skip to main content

Tobacco firms threaten to legal action after parliament votes to ban cigarette branding - UK

| Supplier news

Leading firms in the tobacco industry have threated legal action after Parliament yesterday approved legislation to ban branding on cigarette packs.

After years of political debate, private lobbying and public consultation, the legislation was passed by a margin of 367 votes to 113. If the House of Lords also approves the move, every packet cigarette packet from May 2016 will look the same except for the make and brand name, with graphic photos accompanying health warnings.

The new rules would initially take effect in England, although though the Welsh government has said it will follow suit and Northern Ireland and Scotland are considering a similar move. The Irish Republic passed a similar law earlier this month and Australia has had plain packaging since 2012.

Health campaigners applauded move, whilst Public Health Minister Jane Ellison said: "We want all children in our country to grow up free from the burden of disease that tobacco brings."

But the Tobacco Manufacturer's Association has argued there is a "complete lack of evidence that the policy will work". Simon Clark, of the smokers lobby group Forest, said: "Consumers are fed up being patronised by politicians of all parties. Smokers know there are health risks associated with tobacco. Plain packaging won't make any difference.

"What next? Standardised packaging for alcohol and sugary drinks?"

Tobacco companies argue that standardised packs will lead to an increase in counterfeiting and infringe their intellectual property rights with the major manufacturers saying they are likely to challenge the legislation in court.

Speaking to Reuters, British American Tobacco (BAT) said that it anticipated launching a legal challenge within 30 days of the legislation's final approval. Meanwhile, Imperial Tobacco said that if the measure became law the firm would be "left with no choice but to defend our legal rights in court". JTI said it expected to challenge the legislation and Philip Morris International said it was prepared to seek compensation.

Pin It

Related Articles

By: Daily Investor  Ramokgopa referred to South African municipalities owing Eskom R78 billion, which is increasing at an alarming rate.
By: Se-Anne Rail - IOL Knorr is recalling its brown onion gravy sachets after manufacturers have discovered some packets may contain traces of cow’s milk and soy.
By: Bianke Neethling – Daily Investor Eskom has done a tremendous job of limiting unplanned outages and improving the performance of its coal fleet, which bodes well for load-shedding in South Africa going forward.
By: Shaun Jacobs – Daily Investor In June, the Constitutional Court ruled in favour of Coronation in its legal battle against SARS regarding the profits earned by its Irish-based subsidiary, Coronation Global Fund Managers (CGFM). 
By: Myles Illidge – My Broadband Eskom is cracking down on corruption surrounding its operations and service providers, and using new technologies and systems to minimise opportunities for criminal activity.