Philip Morris to sue UK government over plain packaging of cigarettes made mandatory

The largest tobacco company in the world, Philip Morris, said it would sue the UK government to "protect its rights" over a law ordering the plain packaging of cigarettes, International Business Times reported.

The maker of Marlboro and Benson & Hedges, which operates across 200 different countries, is fighting the Australian government over similar legislation.

The Australian government has passed a law for the sale of cigarettes in plain packages, bearing graphic health warnings.

The UK government in April announced plans for the implementation of plain cigarette packaging, with the draft regulations published in June.

Philip Morris submitted its response to the government following a six-week consultation.

"'Standardised packaging' is a euphemism for government-mandated destruction of property. It is unlawful, disproportionate, and at odds with the most basic requirements of the rule of law," Philip Morris said in its submission, which Reuters claims to have seen.

"PMI [Phillip Morris International] is prepared to protect its rights in the courts and to seek fair compensation for the value of its property," said the company.

According to research funded by Cancer Council Victoria and published in BMJ Open, plain pack smokers were more inclined to consider quitting.

Though Australia introduced plain packing laws 18 months ago, InfoView said in a report published in June within the last year 59 million more cigarettes were sold, an increase of a 0.3  per cent.

According to research by InfoView, the graphic images on cigarette packages were counteracted by the price cut introduced by most manufacturers, which led to increased sales. Until last year, Australia had seen a 15.6 per cent decline in cigarette sales over a four-year period.

The UK government decided to introduce plain packaging after a major study concluded that the move was likely to positively impact public health, The Independent reported. Public Health England had said that the evidence in its favour was ''irrefutable''.

However, the introduction of the new law had been hit by delays, which, according to critics had been caused by lobbying on the part of the tobacco industry.

According to a Department of Health spokesperson the government wanted the decision on whether to introduce standardised packaging of tobacco products to be fully informed and would consider all responses carefully and respond in due course