Norwegian Health Minister Bent Høie expects the tobacco industry to challenge new packaging regulations, which won’t allow any logos tied to their brand. He’s certain, though, that the ugly proposed packaging will be allowed.
Høie presented the packaging this week for both cigarettes and chewing tobacco, which features a “dirty green” background, graphic photos of diseased human organs and brand names only in standardized fonts. The idea is to remove any enticement to buy tobacco products because of the health hazards they present.
Høie said that if the Norwegian Parliament handles the government’s proposal by Christmas, he hopes to implement the new packaging regulations in the course of next year.
“We expect that the tobacco industry will use every option it has to combat this in Norway, but I don’t fear any lawsuit,” he said.
newsinenglish.no staff
