Philip Morris Norway (PMN) said Tuesday it planned to take the Norwegian state to court in an attempt to overturn a law that bans the display of cigarettes in stores, reports AFP.

"Display bans have had no impact on reducing smoking in the countries that have implemented them, a fact acknowledged by the Norwegian Ministry of Health and Care Services," PMN spokeswoman Anne Edwards said in a statement. "These regulations prevent adult consumers from seeing the available product range and overly restrict competition," she said, adding that "we have raised these issues with the government to no avail, which has regrettably left us with no choice but to litigate."
Bjoern-Inge Larsen, who heads up the Norwegian Directorate of Health, told public television NRK that he thinks this legal action is an indication that the ban will contribute to reducing tobacco consumption in the long term. “If Philip Morris really felt the ban would not reduce the consumption of tobacco they would not worry about this law," he said.
Following in the footsteps of several other Western countries like Ireland and Iceland, Norway on 1 January 2010 this year banned the display of cigarettes in stores in an attempt to cut impulse buys of tobacco products. (pi)