Health

No logo. We mean it.

Australia steps up its war against smoking

No logo. We mean it

Daniel Munoz/Reuters

In Italy and France, it’s Marlboro. Norwegians puff on Prince and Bangladeshis favour John Player. But by next year, Australians won’t be able to easily tell one brand of cigarette from another. The world leader in the war against smoking will now become the first to enforce plain packaging for cigarettes. “The only thing to distinguish one brand from another,” said Health Minister Nicola Roxon, “will be the brand and product name in a standard colour, standard position and standard font size and style.” That means logos are gone, and all cigarette packs will be a standardized olive green (the least attractive colour, according to research) with health warnings. The industry won’t go brand-free without a fight, though. Tobacco companies claim the measures infringe on trademark and intellectual property laws, and that they will not curb smoking. For Roxon, though, “the glamour is gone.”

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