High Court Backs Toughest Laws on Tobacco Companies
Thursday 19 September 2013 @ 11.11 a.m. | Legal Research
Australia’s strict laws prohibiting tobacco company logos on cigarette packs and instead showing cancer-riddled mouths, diseased limbs, and sickly children, have been affirmed by the Australian High Court, with reasoning yet to be released.
Australia’s cigarette packaging laws represent the world’s toughest law on cigarette companies, and the High Court has rejected a challenge by tobacco companies to lift this. It was argued before the Court that the value of the company trademarks would be destroyed if companies are unable to display their distinctive colours, brand designs, and logos on packs of cigarettes.
Following from this, starting in December 2013, cigarette packs will instead come in a uniform shade of olive colour and feature dire health warnings and graphic photographs of smoking’s health effects.
Former Attorney General Nicola Roxxon commented after the ruling that
“many other countries around the world ... will take heart from the success of this decision today…Governments can take on big tobacco and win and it's worth countries looking again at what the next appropriate step is for them.”
However, British American Tobacco, Philip Morris International and other global tobacco companies worry that the decision will set a global precedent that could slash billions of dollars from the value of their brands. It is also claimed that such laws violate intellectual property rights and devalue their trademarks.
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