Standardised tobacco packaging to come into effect in September

Health Minister Simon Harris has today (Wednesday) announced that legislation for the standardised packaging of tobacco is to come into force in September.

This follows the signing of the commencement order today (Wednesday) by Minister Marcella Corcoran Kennedy for the standardised packaging provisions of the Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Act 2015.

The aim of standardised packaging is to make all tobacco packs look less attractive to consumers, to make health warnings more prominent, and to prevent packaging from misleading consumers about the harmful effects of tobacco.

The signing of this order means all tobacco products manufactured for sale in Ireland from September 30, 2017, must be in standardised retail packaging.

Products on the market before September 30 date will be permitted to stay on the market for a 12-month period (i.e. until September 30, 2018).

Standardised packaging means that all forms of branding – trademarks, logos, colours and graphics – are to be removed from tobacco packs.

The brand and variant names would be presented in a uniform typeface for all brands and the packs would all be in one plain neutral colour.

Minister Corcoran Kennedy said: “The tobacco pack is the last advertising medium for the tobacco industry in Ireland and so is a critically important form of promotion.  

'Standardised packaging is the next step in tackling the promotion and advertising of tobacco. There is strong evidence emerging from Australia, that introducing standardised packaging is both effective and proportionate in reducing the toll of tobacco use on the population.

'Research has shown that younger people are more influenced by brands,' she added. 'Ireland has the lowest age of children starting to smoke among all the EU Member States and almost 80% of smokers in Ireland start when they are children.

'Standardised packaging will reduce the attractiveness of tobacco products and forms a key part of Ireland’s strategy to reduce tobacco use, particularly uptake among children and young people.”