England opts for £12 billion plain packaging gamble

The UK’s upper house has approved a bill that will require cigarettes and roll-your-own tobacco to be sold in England only in standardized packaging from May 2016, according to a Newsweek story relayed by the TMA.

The approval sets the UK government on a collision course with tobacco companies, which have threatened to sue.

One well-positioned observer has said that UK taxpayers, who have already suffered years of austerity, could be forced by the courts to hand over £12 billion to the tobacco companies.

Imperial Tobacco’s spokesperson Simon Evans said his company had “no choice” but to defend its rights in court.

Evans said there was no credible evidence that standardized packaging would meet its objectives. The standardized packaging law in Australia, the first country to introduce such a requirement, had resulted in consumer down-trading and an increase in illegal trade.