Smoking is the biggest preventable cause of death in
England, killing 80,000 people every year.
British American Tobacco and Philip
Morris filed legal objections at the High Court in London. Another company,
Imperial Tobacco, said in March that it intended to challenge the law in the UK
courts. Japan Tobacco International (JTI), which owns the Winston, Camel and
Benson & Hedges brands, also intends to take the government to court.
They claim that the new rules are illegal because they take
away their trademark intellectual property. British American Tobacco and Philip
Morris say that stopping them from using their trademarks goes against English
and EU property law. They also argue that the plain packaging law prevents the
free movement of goods. According to Philip Morris, the UK's law should have
been postponed until the European Court of Justice had reached its decision on
the matter.
Health charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), said it
had commissioned legal advice that indicates the legislation is compatible with
European law. The group’s chief executive Deborah Arnott said:
“The tobacco
industry knows it has little or no chance of winning but by threatening legal
action it is trying to stop the infection spreading to other countries. Standardised
plain packaging threatens the profitability of the industry and they are
desperate to prevent other countries from following the example set by
Australia, the UK and Ireland.”
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