Plain tobacco packaging firms were worried the Australian plain packaging legislation might set a global precedent. In July 2012 it was reported that the American lobbying organisation American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) had launched a worldwide campaign against plain packaging of cigarettes. With the backing of tobacco companies and other corporate interests, it was targeting governments planning to introduce bans on cigarette branding, including the UK and Australia. Tobacco companies were also reported to have provided legal advice and funding to Ukraine and Honduras governments to launch a complaint in the World Trade Organization (WTO) on the grounds that the Australian legislation is
Plain tobacco packaging one year (until 1 July 2018) to transition to the new standardised cigarette packages and smokeless tobacco boxes. Since 2017, the National Assembly has discussed draft Law 136 on plain packaging. The bill proposes that the color of the packs be dark matt gray and that the mark be presented in white Arial font, size 20, highlighted in bold. Panama ranks second in having the lowest prevalence in the world of consumption, since only 6.4% of adults in the isthmus smoke. Anti-smoking group New Vois Association of the Philippines favored the introduction of plain cigarette packaging in the Philippines as