Cigarette packets in Australia (20 May 2019). As a result of the enactment of the December 2015 plain tobacco packaging bill, on 1 January 2017 France became the second country in the world, after Australia, and the first in the European Union to require tobacco products to be sold in plain packaging. In March 2015, the House of Commons voted 367–113 in favour of plain cigarette packaging in the United Kingdom. The sale of plain packs is compulsory since 21 May 2017. For cigarette packets, warnings include: With each warning is an accompanying graphic, and detailed information on the back of the packet. In
Plain tobacco packaging Mars, Incorporated and the UK Department of Health conveyed concerns that plain packaging could be extended to the food and beverage industry. Together, with other policies such as tobacco taxes, plain packaging is considered by some as a form of social engineering. A study commissioned by Philip Morris International indicated that plain packaging would shift consumer preferences away from premium towards cheaper brands. The tobacco industry also expressed concern that plain packaging would increase the sales of counterfeit cigarettes. Roy Ramm, former commander of Specialist Operations at New Scotland Yard and founding member of The Common Sense Alliance, a think