France edges closer to standardized packaging

The French National Assembly on April 3 passed the first reading of draft legislation to require cigarette manufacturers to sell their products in standardized packaging, according to a Radio France Internationale story relayed by the TMA.

The vote came after a heated debate during which some MPs claimed that the measure would encourage smuggling and accused the government of “assaulting” tobacconists.

Health Minister Marisol Touraine defended the proposal by saying that Australia, which introduced the world’s first standardized packaging law, had seen “encouraging results,” with the number of smokers in that country reportedly falling by three percent annually.

MPs passed too other anti-smoking proposals; one of which would ban smoking in cars carrying anyone aged below 18, a higher limit than the below-12 limit proposed in the original draft.

They voted in favor of prohibiting tobacconists from opening shops near schools; imposing an extra tax on cigarette manufacturers if their sales revenue increases or fails to fall by less than three percent in any year; requiring more transparency on industry lobbying; and imposing tighter limits on industry sponsorship activities.