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1 October 2014Trademarks

France set for brandless cigarettes

The government department responsible for health in France has revealed new plans to clamp down on smoking, including the introduction of brandless cigarette packs.

Minister for social affairs and health, Marisol Touraine, has introduced a two-year plan which she said will aim to create France’s first generation of non-smokers.

Instead of the cigarettes’ brand name, a graphic health warning will be displayed across the majority of the pack, with the brand name written in small writing at the bottom.

The plans are to be implemented over the two-year period.

"We have set an ambitious goal: to succeed in making children born today the first 'non-smoking' generation in 20 years," Touraine said in a statement.

Touraine’s announcement follows a report by WIPR in July this year which said that the health ministry was putting together a report to present to the government within the next month.

Pascal Montredon, president of the Federation of Tobacconists, previously told Le Figaro newspaper that he was “deeply shocked” by the proposal.

“This measure will make the packets easier to copy and increase the number of counterfeit cigarettes,” Montredon said.

The plans will also see the French government forbid smoking in cars with children under the age of 12 in them, ban smoking in areas commonly used by children and stop advertising for electronic cigarettes.

Australia pioneered plain packaging for cigarettes in 2012, while New Zealand and the UK have also followed suit and plan similar legislation.

The UK government launched a public consultation on its plans earlier this year.

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2 July 2014   France is considering becoming the latest country to introduce a plain packaging requirement for cigarettes, as part of tough new anti-smoking laws.