Tobacco Industry’s spurious claims on plain packaging must be challenged

In this letter, published in the Law Society Gazette, QMUL's Jonathan Griffiths challenges "undue pessimism" about the UK's imminent legislation on plain packaging. Richard Taylor is unduly pessimistic about the UK's imminent legislation on standardised packaging for tobacco products. He suggests that the government will be taking a 'massive gamble', because the tobacco industry will challenge the uncompensated regulation of their 'brands' as a violation of the property right protected under the European Union's Charter of Fundamental Rights (article 17). The industry will undoubtedly challenge the legislation. It has limitless resources and grimly fights every legal measure intended to reduce the impact of smoking on human health. However, there is no reason at all to believe that its arguments will succeed in this instance. The jurisprudence of the Luxembourg and Strasbourg courts indicates that the government is on safe ground.