Nov 9, 2010
The new Labor minority government is committed to introducing plain packaging of cigarettes. The tobacco companies or those who advocate on its behalf have claimed that such moves would either breach the Australian Constitution or international legal obligations relating to protection of trade marks. Neither assertion is correct.
Since that conference in 1994, the worldwide and Australian regulatory environment relating to promotion of cigarettes has become significantly more restrictive. The regulatory moves that have been made, lead to the next step of introducing plain packaging. As its own documentation reveals, the tobacco industry had no case against the legality of plain packaging in 1994 and its legal position is even weaker in 2010. There are no constitutional or international legal impediments to the implementation of the proposals.
Source: Lawyers Weekly