France aims for plain packs by 2016

France is due to introduce standardized packaging for cigarettes in 2016, according to an Agence France Presse report citing an announcement by Health Minister Marisol Touraine on Wednesday.

In the wake of the introduction of standardized tobacco packs in Australia, Touraine initially announced a raft of measures last month to tackle smoking.

One of the main planks of the strategy was standardized packaging, which “should be in tobacconists at the beginning of the year 2016”, the minister told French radio.