Ireland prepares for plain packs
Critics contend that plain packaging has done little to reduce smoking rate in Australia.
Regulations requiring tobacco products to be sold in standardized packaging will come into effect in Ireland in May, according to a story by Marie O’Halloran for the Irish Times citing a statement made to parliament by the Minister for Health Simon Harris.
The Times piece said the government had remained adamant that it would introduce standardized packaging despite threats of legal action from the tobacco industry and the loss of 87 jobs in Mullingar following a decision to close the Imperial Tobacco manufacturing plant.
Harris was speaking as he introduced the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill – an amalgam of measures to amend four pieces of legislation relating to different aspects of health.
The Bill amends six sections of the Public Health (Standardized Packaging of Tobacco) Act 2015 relating to the regulation of the appearance of tobacco packaging.
Harris said the regulation of the appearance of tobacco packaging was aimed at improving public health by reducing the appeal of tobacco products to consumers, and increasing the effectiveness of health warnings.
It would, in addition, reduce the ability of tobacco packaging to mislead consumers about the harmful effects of smoking.
The Bill will allow the health minister to prescribe “the color of the outer and inner surfaces of tobacco packaging, the form and manner of barcodes and the manner in which a name may be printed on tobacco products”.