Malaysia warning on plain packs

The Asean Intellectual Property Association (Asean IPA) has urged the authorities in Malaysia to reconsider a ‘regressive’ proposal to introduce standardized packaging for tobacco, according to a story in the Malay Mail.

In a statement issued yesterday, Asean IPA said the Health Ministry proposal would have repercussions for intellectual property in Malaysia.

The association’s president Chew Phye Keat said standardized packaging did not represent a ‘balanced approach’ to health issues. “We are extremely concerned with the repercussions that would come with such extreme regulations,” Chew was quoted as saying.

“Plain packaging on tobacco products would be setting the precedent for other consumer products as well.”

Chew said such a move would cause a spike in contraband cigarettes and would encourage the emergence of counterfeit products.

“For Malaysia to move forward in its intellectual property regime, it must not consider such regressive measures as plain packaging,” he said.

The Mail story said that according to the Health Affairs blog, tobacco had been carved out from the investor-state dispute settlement provisions of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement and that this would protect tobacco control laws from legal challenges by corporations.

The TPP has been signed by Malaysia and 11 other countries (Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the US and Vietnam) that between them account for about 40 percent of the world’s economy, but it is yet to be ratified.