Tobacco firms to sue Thai government over packaging changes

Tobacco giant Philip Morris, which makes the Marlboro brand, said last week it intends to sue the Thai government on the basis that the change will damage the brand, adding that it would file an action in the Bangkok Administrative Court by 4 July.

It claimed the authority did not consult the industry before it made the decision in April to increase the size of health warnings from 50 to 85 per cent on both sides of every cigarette packet sold in the country. The new rule will come into effect in October.

Company spokesman Onanong Pratakphiriya noted in a statement that this policy will have a negative impact on its trademarks, adding that the ministry had ignored the voices of thousands of retailers.

Philip Morris recently lost an action against the Australian government’s policy to introduce cigarette packaging that uses the same typeface for all brands and includes graphic images of diseased smokers.

Following Philip Morris’ decision to sue the Thai government, Japan Tobacco International revealed that it filed suit to challenge the changes on 19 June, arguing that the changes would interfere with its operations in the country.

“In order to protect its ability to continue to use its brands and key trademarks in Thailand, JTI (Japan Tobacco International) has initiated a legal challenge against this notification,” the company said in a statement.

The manufacturer for Winston and Benson & Hedges added the change would have a “disproportionate impact on legitimate competition, intellectual property rights and freedom of expression”, while it does not believe that the increased size of graphic health warnings is “effective or proportionate”.