No robust evidence to back plain packs

Imperial Tobacco said yesterday that it believed there was no robust evidence to support standardized packaging, though it promised to review the Chantler report.

In November, Sir Cyril Chantler, a pediatrician, chairman of University College London Partners and nonexecutive chairman of the Quality and Clinical Risk Committee of NHS (National Health Service) England, was asked by the U.K. government to undertake an independent review of the public health evidence for standardized tobacco packaging.

“The U.K. government has previously made it clear that any decision on plain packaging will be based on the ‘wide range of relevant considerations,’ including the public consultation last year in which two-thirds of respondents said that they were against plain packaging,” Imperial said in a note posted on its website.

“The evidence from Australia, the only country in the world to introduce plain packaging, is clear: There has been no impact on the level of tobacco consumption, but illicit trade has increased from 11.8 to 13.3 percent of total consumption. An updated KPMG report on illicit trade in Australia is due to be published later this month.

“The legislation in Australia remains subject to an ongoing legal challenge by a number of countries [that] have filed complaints with the World Trade Organization, stating that plain packaging violates international rules on intellectual property and international trade obligations.”