Imperial Tobacco sent a letter threatening legal action to block plain packaging to Children and Youth Affairs Minister James Reilly, following an earlier communication from Japan Tobacco International, Reuters reported.

Reilly, who introduced plain packaging as health minister and continues to guide the legislation, revealed the second letter in a speech to the annual conference of his Fine Gael party, the news agency said. Ireland has said it plans to become the first European Union country to introduce uniform packaging for tobacco products.