‘Tobacco regulations affect other goods’

Tighter regulations on cigarette products have spilled over to alcohol, soda and other consumer products, which has restricted consumer choices and made goods more expensive, Japan Tobacco International (JTI) said.

At a recent conference on intellectual property rights, Michael Deignan, vice president of JTI Asia Pacific, also argued that plain cigarette packaging and other regulatory measures have failed to improve public health. Instead, they have caused side effects, including the growth of cigarette smuggling.

Under the title “Global Regulatory Trends Undermining the Future of Brands,” Deignan said countries have taken more restrictive measures, including taxation, pictorial health warnings and prohibitions on advertising and promotion, against cigarette products over the past four decades.

He highlighted the growing trend of applying restrictions first to tobacco and then to other consumer products, such as alcohol, soda and food, creating a domino effect, or what he called a “slippery slope,” for other industries.

In particular, Deignan expressed concern that at the extreme end of the slippery slope is plain packaging, where all trademarks, logos and brand-specific colors are removed, resulting in unintended consequences and a severe infringement of intellectual property rights.

“In Australia, which introduced plain packaging for cigarette packs in December 2012, there is no reliable evidence to show plain packaging has achieved any public health benefits,” the vice president said. “Instead, the policy has been a failure and has created many issues in the marketplace, including an increase in the availability of illegal tobacco.”

Deignan argues that if plain packaging is introduced, branding will disappear and that will extend to all trademark owners.