Category: Tobacco Control

The Proportionality of Tobacco Packaging Restrictions on Autonomous Communication, Political Expression and Commercial Speech

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| Freedom of Expression, Intellectual property, Tobacco Control

The Summer 2018 volume of the Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly has been published this morning. Just in time for tomorrow’s seminar, and building on my earlier paper in the QUT Law Review, it contains the following piece by me:

“A Little Parthenon No Longer: The Proportionality of Tobacco Packaging Restrictions on Autonomous Communication, Political Expression and Commercial Speech” (2018) 69(2) Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly 175-211

Abstract
This paper evaluates the constitutionality of statutory restrictions upon tobacco packing in Ireland. It concludes that public health and the protection of children constitute pressing and substantial reasons sufficient to justify the Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Act 2015 and Part 5 of the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2017 as proportionate restrictions upon tobacco companies’ freedom of political expression protected by Article 40.6.1 of the Constitution and freedom of autonomous communication protected by Article 40.3.1.

In many respects, Ireland has been a world leader in tobacco control, from banning smoking in the workplace or in cars with children, to requiring standardised packaging. Part 1 introduces this article; it sets out the background to the 2015 and 2017 packaging legislation. Part 2 of this article, on restrictions, describes the restrictions in the packaging legislation.

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Plain tobacco packaging in Australia and Ireland

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| Conferences, Lectures, Papers and Workshops, Tobacco Control

Plain Pack With Shamrock And KangrooAustralia and Ireland were the first two countries in the world to introduce legislation to require standardized packing of tobacco products. As Olivia Kelly reports in the Irish Times that the Minister of State for Health Promotion, Catherine Byrne TD launched a landmark Report on the State of Tobacco Control in Ireland to mark World No Tobacco Day yesterday, I’m delighted to announce that a seminar on this topic will be held from 2:00pm to 4:00pm on Tuesday 12 June 2018 in the Neill Lecture Theatre in the Trinity Long Room Hub Arts & Humanities Research Institute, Trinity College Dublin.

The main speaker will be Prof Matthew Rimmer (QUT); I will respond to his presentation; the seminar will be chaired by Prof Shane Allwright (TCD); and there will be plenty of time for questions and answers.

Prof Matthew RimmerMatthew Rimmer (pictured right) is Professor of Intellectual Property and Innovation in the Faculty of Law, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. He has recently edited a special issue of the QUT Law Review on the plain packaging of tobacco products worldwide. At the seminar, he will talk about the Australian plain packaging legislation, and the failed challenges to it in the Australian courts, on foot of an investment treaty between Australia and Hong Kong, and before the World Trade Organisation.…

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Standardised tobacco packaging comes ever closer in Ireland

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| Tobacco Control

Pantone448C via their websiteThe Irish Independent this morning reports that the first of the plain cigarette packets have hit shelves around the country:

Tobacco products bearing the new standardised packaging are now available in some Irish retail outlets. From September, all cigarettes and all other tobacco products will have to be sold in plain or standardised packaging by law.

The Department of Health have issued a press release in which the Minister of State for Health Promotion and the National Drugs Strategy, Catherine Byrne, welcomed the news that products using the new plain packaging can now be found in some outlets:

Gone are the familiar colours and logos of the various brands and instead all cigarette boxes will be in the same plain neutral colour [pictured above left], bringing into sharp focus the health warnings on the packets. … Our aim is to decrease the appeal of tobacco products, to increase the effectiveness of health warnings and to reduce the chances of consumers being misled about the harmful effects of smoking. This packaging makes it plain that cigarettes are bad for your health. … Standardised packaging is just one of a number of measures outlined in Tobacco Free Ireland (pdf), the ultimate aim of which is to encourage and help smokers to quit and to prevent young people from starting to smoke.

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Tobacco advertising and commercial speech in Australia

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| Tobacco Control

Philip Morris Asia Ltd. on Monday initiated legal proceedings on behalf of its Australian subsidiary Philip Morris Ltd. against the Australian government to block new plain package labeling requirements for tobacco products set to go into effect in December 2012.

via jurist.org

Update: the challenge failed: JT International SA v Commonwealth of Australia (2012) 250 CLR 1, [2012] HCA 43 (5 October 2012).

Further update: see the Special Issue of the Queensland University of Technology Law Review on the Plain Packaging of Tobacco Products.…

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Tobacco advertising challenges

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| Competition Law, Freedom of Expression, Tobacco Control

The Public Health (Tobacco) Act, 2002 (also here), as amended in 2004 (also here) – and in particular Part 3 of the 2002 Act – constitute a comprehensive control on the sale and advertising of tobacco (the Office of Tobacco Control has a comprehensive list of the relevant legislation), and the legislation largely gives effect to EU law in this field. In particular, Section 33 of the 2002 Act as amended by section 5 of the 2004 Act prohibits advertising of tobacco products and section 43 of the 2002 Act as amended by section 14 of the 2004 Act requires vendors to ensure that tobacco products are kept in a closed container that is not visible or accessible to customers. These and related provisions were brought into force by the Public Health (Tobacco) Act 2002 (Commencement) Order 2008 (S.I. No. 404 of 2008) (also here) and took effect on 1 July of this year. Dublin solicitors Matheson Ormsby Prentice have a helpful description of the restrictions here. Now, today’s Sunday Times brings news that these prohibitions are to face a legal challenge in the Irish courts:

Philip Morris sues Irish government on tobacco ban

Tobacco giant Philip Morris International is to launch a legal action against the Irish government over its ban on the display of cigarettes in shops.

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