Philip Morris International (PMI) said the Chantler report on benefits of plain packaging used by the government to back its current initiative is based on the same “questionable” research that last year prompted the UK to shelve plain-pack regulation.

"Cyril Chantler has chosen to disregard the evidence on plain packaging from Australia – the only country in the world to have implemented it. Instead he has based his conclusions exclusively on the same questionable research that failed to make the case for plain packaging when the Government found insufficient evidence to proceed with the policy last year.
"Plain packaging has failed to cut smoking rates, has not deterred youth smokers and has been accompanied by a dramatic growth of the black market. In Australia, legal tobacco sales actually rose in the year following the introduction of plain packaging", PMI said in a statement.
"As the government today made clear, Sir Cyril Chantler’s review looked only at one element of the potential impact of plain packaging. The prime minister and the government have committed to look at the wider evidence on the economic, legal and crime impacts of plain packaging. The government should not rush to proceed without holding the full impact assessment they have promised."