Big tobacco companies lose the fight to roll back plain packaging for cigarettes despite no evidence to suggest to reduces sales

  • Australia has won a dispute with several countries over its plain packaging laws
  • The World Trade organisation said the law improved health by reducing smoking
  • The complaint was from by Cuba, Indonesia, Honduras and Dominican Republic
  • Australia's 2012 law bans logos and distinctively-coloured cigarette packaging
  • Some studies show that over five years the law has stalled a decline in smoking 

A complaint over Australia's plain-packaging cigarettes brought forward by Cuba, Indonesia, Honduras and the Dominican Republic has been rejected by the World Trade Organisation on Thursday. 

The WTO panel rejected the argument that Australia had infringed on tobacco companies' trademarks and intellectual property rights.

The panel concluded Australia's law improved public health by reducing the use of tobacco products despite studies indicating otherwise.

The contentious law has drawn mixed results with many studies showing that the ban on packaging has actually stalled a decline in smoking rates and created a booming black market.

Australia has won a dispute with several countries, including Indonesia,  over its plain packaging (pictured) laws

Australia has won a dispute with several countries, including Indonesia,  over its plain packaging (pictured) laws

'For the first time in more than two decades the daily smoking rate did not significantly decline over the most recent 3-year period,' the National Drug Strategy Household Survey reported in 2016. 

'In actual fact there are more people smoking in Australia today than five years ago when the policy was introduced' the report said. 

As far as the sale of illegal tobacco, many reports show it has skyrocketed - with a 14% increase since the plain packaging was rolled out. 

Border Force reported an increase of illicit cigarettes seized while coming into the country - from 182 tonnes in 2014 to 381 tonnes in 2017.  

Honduras indicated that it was likely to appeal the WTO decision, saying the ruling contained legal and factual errors and appeared not to be objective.

The World Trade organisation said the law improved health by reducing smoking

The World Trade organisation said the law improved health by reducing smoking

Vera Luiza da Costa e Silva, head of the secretariat of the World Health Organisation's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, said there was already a 'domino effect', with countries moving towards Australian-style rules and seeing them as a way towards the 'endgame' with less than 5 percent of the population smoking.

Geir Ulle, International Trade Director at Japan Tobacco International, said the decision was a major step backwards for the protection of intellectual property rights internationally.

'It sets a dangerous precedent that could encourage governments to ban branding on other products without providing any reliable evidence of benefits to public health,' Ulle said.

'This ruling doesn´t make the policy right or effective, nor does it make it worth copying.'

Australia's law, implemented in 2012, bans logos and distinctively-coloured cigarette packaging in favour of drab olive packets that look more like military or prison issue, with brand names printed in small standardised fonts.