From: CSP Daily News
World Trade Organization report sets ominous tone for tobacco manufacturers and other categories
GENEVA — Retailers following so-called “plain packaging” laws for tobacco products may have something to fear with the recent release of a report from an international agency that essentially supports such laws, which were first set in Australia.
Australia introduced its plain-packaging laws in 2012, forcing tobacco manufacturers to sell cigarettes in drab, olive-color packaging with no branding beyond the manufacturer’s name in small print and with large, graphic health warnings on most of its surface area. In reaction, countries such as Cuba, Indonesia, Honduras and the Dominican Republic complained to the World Trade Organization (WTO), claiming Australia was infringing on international free-trade agreements and intellectual property rights.
