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O’Dowd stated that the UK government may face legal challenge from Philip Morris over plain cigarette packaging.(1)
I hope this will be the case. This will be good news. Implementing plain packaging for cigarettes would mean that the UK government will be the first European country dedicated to implement effective tobacco control to protect his citizens from the first avoidable cause of premature death.
On March 1, 2010 Uruguay was the first country in the world to require 80% of the package to be appropriated to health warnings. Philip Morris is a particularly sophisticated corporate litigant which has been involved in hundreds of smoking-related lawsuits. It is not a surprise that it filed a complaint with the World Bank's International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes against Uruguay. Could the UK government claim it fears Philip Morris? Little courageous Uruguay (Gross Domestic Product of $44 billion) does not fear the giant Philip Morris (market capitalization of $107 billion)!
Last, in 2004, Philip Morris agreed to pay $1.25bn (£674m) in a landmark agreement settling a civil lawsuit filed in New York by the European Union over smuggling charges and laundering money.(2) Britain was not one of the 10 countries (Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain) which participated in the lawsuit.
No one can ignore that the size of health warnings on cigarette packs are one of the most cost effective tools for tobacco control. This is why the size of health warnings on a cigarette pack is inversely correlated to the influence of the tobacco lobby on politicians.(3)
1 O’Dowd A. UK government may face legal challenge from Philip Morris over plain cigarette packaging. BMJ 2014;349:g5172.
Will the UK government be sued by smugglers?
O’Dowd stated that the UK government may face legal challenge from Philip Morris over plain cigarette packaging.(1)
I hope this will be the case. This will be good news. Implementing plain packaging for cigarettes would mean that the UK government will be the first European country dedicated to implement effective tobacco control to protect his citizens from the first avoidable cause of premature death.
On March 1, 2010 Uruguay was the first country in the world to require 80% of the package to be appropriated to health warnings. Philip Morris is a particularly sophisticated corporate litigant which has been involved in hundreds of smoking-related lawsuits. It is not a surprise that it filed a complaint with the World Bank's International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes against Uruguay. Could the UK government claim it fears Philip Morris? Little courageous Uruguay (Gross Domestic Product of $44 billion) does not fear the giant Philip Morris (market capitalization of $107 billion)!
Last, in 2004, Philip Morris agreed to pay $1.25bn (£674m) in a landmark agreement settling a civil lawsuit filed in New York by the European Union over smuggling charges and laundering money.(2) Britain was not one of the 10 countries (Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain) which participated in the lawsuit.
No one can ignore that the size of health warnings on cigarette packs are one of the most cost effective tools for tobacco control. This is why the size of health warnings on a cigarette pack is inversely correlated to the influence of the tobacco lobby on politicians.(3)
1 O’Dowd A. UK government may face legal challenge from Philip Morris over plain cigarette packaging. BMJ 2014;349:g5172.
2 Tran M. Philip Morris reaches $1.25bn EU agreement. theguardian.com 9 July 2004. Available at http://www.theguardian.com/business/2004/jul/09/smoking.europeanunion
3 Braillon A, Dubois G. Warnings on tobacco packets. Is your MP concerned about public health? BMJ 2011;343:d4883.
Competing interests: No competing interests