October 22, 2014 at 11:05 am
After the United Kingdom and Ireland, France is also considering mandatory plain packaging for cigarettes as part of a global effort to reduce the number of smokers. According to World Health Organization, France has the third-highest rate of smoking in Western Europe behind Greece and Austria, with 31 percent of adults smoking daily. That compares with 14 percent in the U.K. and 24 percent in Germany, the WHO says.
This measurement designed to reduce the number of smokers has caused quite an uproar. On the one side, we have the tobbacco companies, claiming that this law will have no positive effect on smokers and that it is only a plan to harm great companies and their marketing. On the other side, there is some evidence from Australia (where standardized packaging has been introduced in December 2012) that the number of smokers has decreased in the previous year and half. However, there are also reports that the black market is on the rise because of the law.
Lastly, and maybe most significantly, there is a question of how this will affect company rights and if this is a direct assault on intellectual property and trademarks, seeing that every brand packaging has distinctive marks of the company. What do you think of this law? Share your thoughts in our poll.
[poll id=”5″]
[Ja zelim komentare ovde]
