Plain packaging, narrowly approved by the Assembly

The French National Assembly has voted to introduce plain packets from May 2016, all of them identical in design and shape. The decision was taken overnight by a margin of only 2 votes.

Packets all identical and of the same shape

The brand name will appear only in small characters. This type of packet has existed in Australia since 2012. Its supporters argue that it removes the imagined world built around tobacco brands, and that it should therefore make it less likely that younger people take up smoking.

Le paquet neutre maintenu cette nuit dans la #loiSanté par 56 voix contre 54 #tabac

— Michèle Delaunay (@micheledelaunay) 26 November 2015

Why is the packet being contested?

The decision was carried by a majority of only two votes. That hesitation is due in particular to the fact that an alternative to the plain packet had been put forward, namely increasing the size of the warnings on packets.

What negative reactions has the decision provoked?

It will come as no surprise that the cigarette manufacturers are unhappy with the decision. They are threatening to take the State to court. As for tobacconists, they consider that this is no longer prevention but a “punishment”. The measure has indeed provoked an outcry among manufacturers, who are threatening legal action, and among tobacconists, who are running a campaign backed by posters proclaiming “yes to prevention, no to punishment”.