PHILIP MORRIS SAYS PLAIN PACKAGING COULD MEAN GOVERNMENT COMPENSATION

December 2, 2013
NACS Online

The legal opinion said plain packaging proposals in Ireland would likely trigger a higher cost to taxpayers.

​DUBLIN, Ireland – Philip Morris has warned the Irish government that introducing plain packaging for cigarettes would probably lead to “an extremely high price” for taxpayers via government compensation to tobacco companies, the Irish Times reports.

The British division of Philip Morris International asked for a legal opinion on Irish proposals for plain packaging. That opinion stated the proposed laws would not “withstand legal scrutiny,” which would mean tobacco companies involved with the case would likely receive compensation from the government.

Philip Morris sent the letter and opinion to Michael Noonan, minister of finance, and James Reilly, minister for health. Michael Collins wrote the opinion, which also stated that banning tobacco brands would have “predictable and stark” legal repercussions.

“Any proposal to introduce plain packaging or oversize warnings labeling legislation without compensation is likely to be struck down by the European and Irish courts. The alternative is that packaging restrictions come at the extremely high price of monetary compensation,” Collins wrote in the opinion.

Earlier this month, the Irish government okayed an initial version of a plain packaging measure entitled the Public Health (Standardized Packaging of Tobacco) Bill. The proposal would incorporate bigger warnings on typical packages.

Meanwhile, in Australia, tobacco firms continue to fight the country’s plain packaging laws. That battle has caused Britain and New Zealand to delay implementation of new packaging rules until the Australia case is decided. The United States has had its new packaging regulations halted by litigation, too, with the proposals languishing at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for now.