Wednesday, September 5, 2012

BAT ... Sep12

The local tobacco sector received a double blow over the past couple of weeks, with changes in regulations locally and abroad. While the announcement of a floor price for 20 stick packs of cigarettes had been expected, the decision by the Australian court to ban logos on individual packets could lead to other unintended consequences.

However, the question is whether it will eventually be adopted here. Industry observers do not rule out that happening, but it would not be so soon. This is only the beginning of a long drawn out process. The tobacco players are unlikely to take the matter lying down and will ask for additional clarification on the matter.

If Australia were to successfully adopt the measure come Dec 1 2012 as planned, there is a high likelihood that New Zealand will follow suit. In the UK , the Health Department had sought public feedback on standardized tobacco packaging. The consultation period ended on Aug 10, 2012.

BAT’s MD said that the company is disappointed with the decision of the Australian High Court. Tobacco is not only bad law, but is one that will have many unintended consequences for years to come.

However, other governments around the world are already holding up the Australian Court ruling as how cigarettes and other tobacco products are to be sold in generic live green packets with graphic health warnings.

The ban in Australia is to stop the packets from being mobile billboards for the tobacco companies. It will take a while however for emerging markets to catch up. A better indicator for us would be Singapore . However tobacco companies are unlikely to have a contingency plan on how to deal with this plain packaging issue.

The biggest argument on the tobacco players’ side is that having plain packaging would make it easier to produce counterfeits, and that it would lead to a rise in illegal cigarettes.

17 comments:

  1. generic xanax online can get high xanax xr - xanax 2mg effects

    ReplyDelete
  2. buy tramadol online tramadol withdrawal emedicine - tramadol online cheap no prescription

    ReplyDelete
  3. buy tramadol online order tramadol pets - tramadol dosage canine

    ReplyDelete
  4. buy tramadol online 50 mg tramadol vs 10 mg hydrocodone - can you buy tramadol in the usa

    ReplyDelete
  5. xanax order no prescription xanax pre employment drug test - xanax side effects kids

    ReplyDelete
  6. tramadol 50mg buy tramadol ireland - where can i buy tramadol online

    ReplyDelete
  7. xanax online xanax side effects during pregnancy - xanax 2 mg time release

    ReplyDelete
  8. buy cialis online usa cheap cialis one day - buy cialis online in usa

    ReplyDelete
  9. http://landvoicelearning.com/#51438 order tramadol online 100mg - buy tramadol online australia

    ReplyDelete
  10. buy tramadol hcl tramadol for dogs withdrawal symptoms - tramadol 50 mg addictive

    ReplyDelete
  11. tramadol generic tramadol 100mg high - buy tramadol order cheap tramadol online

    ReplyDelete
  12. buy tramadol online tramadol 714 - buy tramadol online us pharmacy

    ReplyDelete
  13. buy tramadol tramadol buy dogs - is tramadol legal to buy online

    ReplyDelete
  14. order tramadol overnight tramadol no prescription saturday delivery - buy tramadol with cod

    ReplyDelete
  15. http://staam.org/#41652 tramadol and xanax - generic tramadol online no prescription

    ReplyDelete
  16. http://staam.org/#37708 buy tramadol ampules - can you buy tramadol online in usa

    ReplyDelete