Tobacco Giants Win Right to Fight EU Packaging Rules in Court

Source from:  Packaging News 11/07/2014

A number of tobacco firms (including Philip Morris, British American Tobacco (BAT) and Imperial Tobacco) formed a coalition to oppose the new EU packaging rules, and the UK's High Court has referred the case to the EU's Court of Justice.

The European Parliament passed reforms earlier this year that will make it compulsory to display health warnings covering 65% of the front and back of tobacco packaging.

The EU's top court will be asked to consider if the EU has misused its powers to legislate for tobacco and whether its actions are proportionate.

It will also have to decide whether the new directive complies with the principle of "subsidiarity" - whether decisions should be taken on a national or regional level rather than by the EU.

The EU insists the new rules will "deter young people from experimenting with, and becoming addicted to, tobacco".

But Marc Firestone, Philip Morris senior vice president, said the directive "raises serious questions" about the free movement of goods and competition within the EU.

"We believe the directive disrupts the balance that the EU treaties establish between the Union and the member states, and we are looking forward to a thorough, objective review by the EU's highest court," he said.

Firestone said there was no disagreement that tobacco products should be strictly regulated, "but measures must honour the EU treaties".

The review by the Court of Justice could take up to two years. Some anti-smoking campaigners fear this could be part of a wider drawn out opposition campaign to the new packaging rules.

Deborah Arnott, chief executive of health charity ASH, told Packaging News: "As usual the tobacco industry is trying to derail the legislation and prevent it being implemented. We trust the European Court of Justice will dismiss the industry's spurious arguments against these important measures which will provide a high level of health protection to our population. Every day's delay means thousands more children all over Europe taking up a deadly and addictive habit."

Mike Ridgway, director of the Consumer Packaging Manufacturers Alliance (CPMA) told Packaging News protection of branding and intellectual property rights is also a key issue with the proposed new rules.

"The packaging industry involved within the tobacco sector have always supported effective regulation but not that which cannot be proved to work and without the consequences of enhancing the counterfeit and illicit trade."

He added that the CPMA was awaiting the latest statistics from Australia (due next month) which introduced plain packaging two years ago, which will give further evidence of what smoking trends have been over this period of time.

Crawford Moodie, of the Centre for Tobacco Control Research at the University of Stirling, told Packaging News that given the lack of harmonisation across the EU in terms of how health warnings are displayed on packs, then the new rules seem appropriate.

"Having pictorial health warnings on the front and back of packs is standard practice, globally, and given that more than ten non-EU countries already have warnings covering, on average, 65% or more of the front and back of packs, then the size of the warnings to appear in the EU is consistent with global trends. As nearly 700,000 people die each year from tobacco related illnesses in the EU, attempting to reduce this number would appear, for most people, a proportional response." Enditem