From:Packaging News

The standardised tobacco pack law comes into effect on 20 May in the UK, following the lead of Australia which implemented the law in December 2012.

France and Ireland also introduce the measure on the same day and more governments are set to eventually follow suit after tobacco firms lost their legal challenge against EU rules. In addition to standardised packaging, 10-packs of cigarettes will be banned while e-cigarettes will be regulated, with lower nicotine content, maximim refill container size and on pack health warnings.

On 11 March 2015 a clear majority of MPs voted in favour of the regulations (367 in support and just 113 against) which were approved by the House of Lords on 16 March.

The introduction of standardised packs, featuring stark imagery portraying physical damage that smoking might cause and no visible branding, has been challenged by tobacco firms.

JTI, Philip Morris International and British American Tobacco have all commenced legal action against the Government centred upon the loss of branding, logos and intellectual property rights for their products which they claim is in breach of UK, EU and International law. The outcome has yet to be decided.

The Consumer Packaging Manufacturers Alliance (CPMA) has also been voicing its opposition to the law which director Mike Ridgway believes will take many by surprise.

“The public is largely unaware of this at the moment and it’s going to be a big issue for retailers, with a lot of confusion at point of sale, as they are not really switched on yet,” he said. “The law states that they have a year to get rid of old stock and I don’t think the change will be visible for at least another three to four months.”

“We would call upon the Government to suspend the introduction of tobacco Plain Packaging until the Courts have resolved the matter which would be both a sensible course of action and potentially save the tax payer enormous sums of money.”

“The precedent this sets for other industries using added value packaging would be a worrying trend.”