Private members bill calls for imposition of standardized tobacco packs in India

An opposition MP has introduced a private member’s bill into the Indian parliament calling for “logos and company branding to be totally removed from tobacco products,” according to an Australian Broadcasting Corp. report.

The proposal is said to be based on standardized packaging legislation imposed in Australia last year.

Since Dec. 1, Australia has required that all tobacco products be sold in packaging designed on behalf of the previous Labor government to be as ugly as possible. Packs are hugely dominated by graphic health warnings, are otherwise a standard olive color, have no logos or other design features, and have brand and variant names in a standardized font and position.

The Indian legislation is yet to be debated in parliament, and supporters of it are predicting staunch opposition from the tobacco industry and some politicians.