New Zealand: Tobacco Industry Says Plain Packaging is Unreasonable

Source from:  TVNS 05/15/2014

The tobacco industry says it will not sit back and let "intellectual property rights" be threatened by the New Zealand government.

Speaking to TVNZ's Breakfast, Dr Axel Geitz, Director of Group Corporate Affairs of Imperial Tobacco, says plain packaging would destroy their brand.

"We've invested a lot of time and money into our brands and we need our brands to compete with the other guys in this industry," he told the programme.

Dr Geitz says his company will fight the plain packaging bill, which if introduced would strip all advertising from cigarette packaging aside from a plain type name of the particular variety.

He says from the tobacco industry's point of view the plain packaging legislation is not rational, reasonable or robust.

"It's not evidence based because all the studies show why underage people start smoking is because of parental example or peer pressure. Never because of packaging," he claims.

Mana Party leader, Hone Harawira, says whether the legislation is robust or rational has nothing to do with the fact that tobacco is killing thousands of New Zealanders every year.

"I think at the end of the day it's the Government's job to to protect the health of its citizens," he told TVNZ's Breakfast.

"The roll of the tobacco companies is to make profits from killing us."

Mr Harawira says pressure from tobacco companies is stalling the Government from making New Zealand the first western country to become smoke-free.

"Unfortunately I think we've been scared off by the cost of the litigation by the tobacco companies," he says.

Dr Geitz argues that the Government is business partners with the companies, taking 70% of all package sales on taxes.

"In a way they are senior partners," he says.

Dr Geitz says as long as tobacco is legal to smoke tobacco companies will fight legislation against their product. Enditem