According to recent data, Britain will postpone its consultation on plain packaging law for smoking products until the spring of 2012 as it plans to introduce a series of other issues after Australia prepares to be the first country to pass such legislation by the end of 2012.

“The government will start the process with an invitation for those parties with an interest to give a response early next year, but it will demand to take into account many considerable factors,” British Health Secretary Andrew Lansley stated in the interview. “With respect of these requirements, the consultation will not be available till the new year. However it will be published in April, 2012 and I would stand in favor of all those with an interest to respond,” Lansley said.

Andrew Lansley wants to reduce the number of young people who start smoking, as according to recent findings about 330,000 children under 16 in England annually first light up and the great number of smokers start usually before they are 18. He also plans to help those adults who decided to stop smoking.

In November, Australia passed laws to implement plain packaging from December 2012 in order to decrease the advertisement of smoking, but three world tobacco leaders have started legal proceedings, declaring that the given law violates their trademark rights.

Three of the world’s four biggest tobacco companies, Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco and Imperial Tobacco are fighting against Australia’s new law in its High Court. In accordance with the new legislation, cigarettes, pipe, cigars and other tobacco products will have to be sold in olive packages without any brand name, showing only the product name in a plain typeface along with health graphic labels. Government officials from Europe, Canada and New Zealand are considering on the given move. Recently this year, Lansley implemented his tobacco control project to investigate alternatives to decrease the promotional effect of tobacco packaging and stated then that this would include a discussion of a move regarding plain packaging.

But he has to look for expert advices on all possible variants, including the industrial property right involvements, and also the cost and public health benefits. Britain already started to introduce laws whereby smoking products should be placed out of sight in England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 2012 in large shops and from 2015 in small ones, which are mostly dominated by Imperial Tobacco and Japan Tobacco.

By Clark Moore, Staff Writer Copyright © 2011 Hot-Cigs.com All rights reserved.