Legislation mandating standardised packaging for tobacco products by mid-2017 requires only upper house approval of technical amendments before it is sent to President Michael Higgins for signature.
Seanad, the upper house, is scheduled to take up the amendments on 3 March following approval of Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill last week in the Dáil, according to the parliamentary website. The legislation provides for standard branding and colour on packaging with a matt finish for cigarettes, roll-your-own and other tobacco products. Warnings would be subject to stipulations in the European Union Tobacco Products Directive. Ireland’s plain packaging is to take effect on 20 May, 2017.
Tobacco companies have said they would mount legal challenges in Ireland, and in the United Kingdom, where Parliament is expected to vote on a plain pack measure by 30 March.