Before and after?

International cigarette companies are busy scrambling after an Australian court has held that it’s perfectly legal to strip cigarette packs of all their branding. Instead, cigarette boxes will come in a uniform olive drab box, covered in health warnings and only stating the brand and variant of cigarette in a standardised font.

The decision by Australia’s highest court means that from December, absolutely no branding will be appearing on cigarette boxes. The aim is to make cigarette smoking as unglamourous as possible, and will trade the brand’s logo for graphic images of cancer riddled mouths, sick children, and images depicting blindness. “No longer when a smoker pulls out a packet of cigarettes will that packet be a mobile billboard,” said the Australian Health Minister and Attorney General in a joint statement.

Images obtained by Reuters show the proposed changes to cigarette packs

Big Tobacco is obviously not very happy with this decision, and argued against the case based on brand devaluation and infringement of intellectual property rights. They have also argued that they are now being forced by government to provide a platform to spread a governmental message, without being compensated for it. Reasons behind the judgment have been withheld, and will be released later this year.

Another argument has been forwarded that the new packaging will make it very simple for producers of counterfeit cigarettes to manufacture fakes when you’re only dealing with essentially one box design. With cigarettes in Australia already setting the smoker back about R140 for a box of 25, many are choosing illegal street vendors who can undercut the higher prices of retail outlets.

The matter isn’t completely over though, as the World Trade Organisation could still overturn the decision. Consultations have already been requested from major tobacco producers, the first step in the WTO’s dispute resolution process.

[Source: MSNBC]