A world-first Australian law requiring tobacco companies to sell cigarettes in uniform packaging was upheld by the nation’s top court, a ruling that may set a precedent for other countries to follow. The High Court dismissed today claims by Japan Tobacco Inc., British American Tobacco Plc, Philip Morris International Inc. and Imperial Tobacco Group Plc that the Australian government illegally seized their intellectual property by prohibiting the display of trademarks on packs.
The judges gave no reasons for the majority decision and said they would be published later. The ruling is a victory for a government faced with A$31.5 billion ($33 billion) in annual health costs from smoking, a habit it estimates killed 900,000 Australians over six decades. The decision means the nation will become the first country to introduce plain cigarette packs when the law takes effect Dec. 1, with governments in Europe, Canada and New Zealand indicating interest in implementing similar legislation.
“The tobacco industry has battled furiously to prevent Australia from becoming the first country in the world to implement plain packaging,” Rob Cunningham, a senior policy analyst at the Canadian Cancer Society in Ottawa, said by e-mail today. “The industry knows that plain packaging is a massive threat and that if Australia implements plain packaging then other countries are sure to follow.”
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