Korea: Questions Raised over Plain Cigarette Packaging

Source from:  The Korea Times 01/25/2016

Australia's controversial Plain Packaging Act, which requires cigarette makers to produce uniform packaging, is coming under increasing scrutiny as it fails to reduce the nation's smoking rate, according to tobacco companies, Thursday.

The companies argue that Australia's smoking rate has not decreased since December 2012 when Australia's Department of Health enacted the regulation, which sees cigarette packaging unadorned with brand names and ads, instead replaced by prominent and graphic anti-smoking messages.

This is why the government has been intentionally delaying a post-implementation review (PIR) on the effectiveness of plain packaging, they said.

"We believe that reasonable regulations are necessary, given the health risks of cigarettes," said a manager at one of the cigarette companies operating in Korea. "However, the scientific-based verification of these regulatory measures should come first if they are put in place to promote public health."

Citing Australian government guidelines, the manager said the country should conduct the PIR on major policies such as the Plain Packaging Act within two years of introduction, and the review should be completed within six months.

However, the Australian government remains reluctant to conduct the PIR on the controversial anti-smoking law because of its failure to cut the number of smokers, cigarette companies said.

"The Australian government is desperate to prove the effectiveness of plain tobacco packaging but all the evidence points to its failure," the manager said. "Australia cannot be held up as a model for other countries to follow."

According to market researcher InfoView, Australia's cigarette sales declined by an annual average of 4.1 percent from 2008 through 2012, before the introduction of the Plain Packaging Act. But the sales jumped by 59 million cigarettes, or 0.3 percent, from 2012 to 2013, suggesting that the controversial law did not help reduce the number of cigarettes sold.

"There was no significant change in the smoking rate before and after the enactment of the plain packaging rule," the manager said. "However, the Australian government refuses to acknowledge this, and is delaying the PIR report."

In addition, four major tobacco-producing nations ― Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Indonesia ― have filed a complaint with the Word Trade Organization against Australia over its Plain Packaging Act. They insist the law infringes upon tobacco firms' intellectual property and trademark rights.

The International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property has also expressed concerns over the plain packaging of cigarettes, arguing that it could lead to a greater restriction on trademark use of many other products.

The Korea Trademark Association (KOTA) also expressed concern, saying that the Australian law could lead to excessive regulations on intellectual property and trademark rights in Korea, a major trading partner of Australia.

The Korea Tobacco Growers Cooperative Association has long been opposed to plain packaging as it adversely affects the export to Australia of cigarettes made in Korea. Enditem