Plain tobacco packaging 2015. After some delays, it was announced that the law would take effect on 30 September 2017, with the sale of previously-manufactured cigarettes allowed until 30 September 2018. On 24 February 2016, the Malaysian health ministry announced that it is planning to follow Australia's example and introduce plain packaging for tobacco in the near future. In the Netherlands, Paul Blokhuis, serving as State Secretary for Health, Welfare and Sports in the Third Rutte cabinet plans to have plain packaging law by 2020. New Zealand requires tobacco products to be standardised in a similar manner to Australian requirements. Legislation and associated
Plain tobacco packaging A few days later, the Federal Council said it was opposed to this, saying such a measure "goes too far". In September 2011, "Bloomberg" reported that the Turkish government was working on plain packaging regulations. An Istanbul-based newspaper, "Milliyet", reported that under the proposal all branding elements would disappear and cigarettes would come in "numbered black boxes" excluding any imagery other than health warnings. In November 2016, Health Minister Recep Akdağ stated that Turkey will "introduce plain packaging where the brand of cigarettes will almost be invisible and sellers will be obliged to store the cigarettes in closed cases instead