 |
On 18 May 2015, Norway notified the WTO (G/TBT/N/NOR/23) that its Ministry of Health and Care Services was proposing regulations to establish standardised packaging standards for tobacco products in Norway. This proposal will apply to all types of tobacco products. If adopted, the regulations would make it unlawful to import into Norway, or to sell or distribute tobacco packaging and tobacco products that are not of standardised design in accordance with detailed provisions established by the Ministry in regulations. Packaging will only have one solid colour, and some of the products will be required to have specific packaging materials. Brand names and variant names, as well as manufacturer information, shall have standardised colour, placement, font and size. The Ministry also proposes standardisation of other elements such as barcodes, packing material, etc. The packaging will retain the mandatory health warnings and other information in accordance with current legislation. The Ministry furthermore proposes that the design of tobacco products and smoking accessories should be standardised to a certain extent, including the colour of the cigarette paper and snus portions, as well as the specification of brand names and variant names. A legal basis for standardising the packaging of tobacco surrogates is also proposed, but specific regulations are not proposed at this time. Tobacco surrogates include herbal cigarettes and herbal snus, among others. This is one of the strictest packaging rules notified to the WTO to date and will likely be discussed at a Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee and/or Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement (TRIPS) Council meeting in the near future. |
