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Irish Government praised for Plain Cigarette Packaging Proposals

Note: World Lung Foundation united with The Union North America. From January 2016, the combined organization is known as “Vital Strategies.”

(New York, USA) – World Lung Foundation today congratulated the government of the Republic of Ireland on its plans to introduce plain standardised packaging for cigarettes. When the planned legislation comes into effect – likely early in 2014 – Ireland will become the second country in the world, after Australia, to stop the tobacco industry from using pack color and design to appeal to smokers and non-smokers (particularly youth). This move will also stop the tobacco industry from using cigarette pack design to convey misleading messages about the relative safety of different brands, when in fact all forms of tobacco are harmful.

The proposed legislation, outlined by Minister for Health Dr James Reilly, will remove all forms of branding, including trademarks, logos, colors and graphics from cigarette packets, and brand names will be presented in a uniform typeface for all brands. As in Australia, all cigarette packaging will be in one plain neutral colour, making graphic and textual health warnings more prominent on the front and the back of cigarette packs.

Peter Baldini, Chief Executive, World Lung Foundation, commented: “Until now, Australia stood alone in introducing plain, standardised packaging for tobacco products. It is possible that many countries have been dissuaded from adopting the same path because of hard lobbying from the tobacco industry and because politicians have witnessed the range of litigation to which Australia has been subject. This makes it even more commendable that Ireland has taken this step, to stand side-by-side with Australia in putting the health of its people above the naked self-interest of Big Tobacco.

“We know that packaging can be particularly successful in attracting youth to smoking – equally, we anticipate that this combination of graphic pack warnings and plain packaging will help encourage smokers to quit and discourage youth from taking up smoking. We fully expect the tobacco industry to expend massive resources to try to stop this legislation, but Australia has proved that governments do not need to cede to the wishes of Big Tobacco. We fully support the Irish Government in asserting its sovereign right to make its own public health policies and look forward to hearing more about the progress of this Bill.”