All tobacco products in Singapore may soon be required to be sold in plain packaging with graphic health warnings covering at least 75 per cent of the packet.
This comes after the Ministry of Health (MOH) announced on Wednesday (Oct 31) that it will introduce standardised packaging for such products sold in Singapore, as part of ongoing efforts for a tobacco-free society.
The proposed measures will apply to all tobacco products, including cigarettes, cigarillos, cigars, beedies (thin cigarettes wrapped in a leaf), ang hoon (loose tobacco leaves) and other roll-your-own tobacco products, MOH said.
The ministry intends to table the proposed amendments to current laws early next year. If enacted, the new measures may take effect from 2020.
A transition period - between when manufacturers have to produce standardised packs and when retailers must sell all products in standardised packs - will be provided to allow a sell-through of old stock and to ease the implementation burden on the tobacco industry, it said.
“Tobacco use is a major cause of ill-health and death in Singapore,” MOH said in a press release.
“More than 2,000 Singaporeans die prematurely from smoking-related diseases annually. Daily smoking prevalence amongst Singaporeans has been fluctuating since 2004, with no clear pattern of sustained decline,” it added.
NO LOGOS, COLOURS
Under the proposal, the new measures will see all logos, colours, brand images and promotional information removed from the packaging of tobacco products, which can be sold only in a standardised colour and a matt finish.
Brand names and product names will be allowed, but only in a standard colour and font style.
Tobacco products must also display mandatory graphic health warning covering at least 75 per cent of the packet’s surface, up from the current 50 per cent.
MOH’s proposed standardised layouts for tobacco products also dictate that the size, shape and material of all retail packages are standardised and open according to a standard format.
The glue used in the packaging will have to be transparent and unscented and all packaging inserts and lining will have to be in a standardised colour.
Australia, France and the United Kingdom have already introduced similar measures.
“Evidence from numerous studies, including from Australia following the implementation of standardised packaging, demonstrated that standardised packaging reduced the appeal of both the packaging and the product,” MOH said in a summary of the Government's final assessment.
“It is the Government’s assessment that changes in consumption can occur as a result of reducing overall product appeal,” it added.
source: channelnewsasia.com