2 August, 2019
The Ministry of Health (“MOH”) has announced the implementation of the Standardized Packaging Measure (“SP Measure”), which requires all tobacco products in Singapore to follow a standardised packaging with enlarged graphic health warnings. The SP Measure will cover all tobacco products, including cigarettes, cigars and roll-your-own tobacco products.
To effect the SP Measure, the MOH will be introducing new subsidiary legislation, one of which is the Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) (Appearance, Packaging and Labelling) Regulations 2019 (“SP Regulations”), which were published on 1 July 2019 and will come into operation on 1 July 2020.
The introduction of this subsidiary legislation follows the legislative amendments that were made to the Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) Act (the “Act”) earlier this year. In March 2019, the Act had been amended to include a new section 17(3) requiring all tobacco products to comply with the MOH’s prescribed requirements. This amendment nevertheless made clear that it would not affect the registrability and registration of trade marks and designs pursuant to the Trade Marks Act (Cap. 332) and Registered Designs Act (Cap. 266).
Broadly speaking, the new SP regulations will mandate:
(a) The removal of all logos, colours, images and promotional information on the packaging, appearance and labelling on retail packaging of all tobacco products (other than brand names and variant names displayed in a standard colour and font style); and
(b) An increase in the minimum size of the mandatory graphic health warnings from the existing 50% to 75% of all specified tobacco product packaging surfaces.
All tobacco products imported into, or distributed, sold, offered for sale or possessed for sale in Singapore from 1 July 2020, must comply with the SP Regulations. Failure to do so may result in a fine of up to S$10,000 and / or imprisonment for up to 6 months for first-time offenders. Enhanced penalties may also be enforced against individuals with earlier qualifying convictions.
To facilitate the adjustments and preparations required for this change, the Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) (Labelling) (Exemption) Order 2019 will provide for a three-month transition period from 1 April 2020 to 30 June 2020 for retailers to clear existing non-compliant cigarette stocks.
The MOH will also be meeting key stakeholders in the industry to address any queries and operational concerns relating to the proposed specifications in the SP Measures. An advanced notice period of 9 to 12 months will be provided for any further changes relating to the tobacco products.
Such standardised tobacco packaging measures are not novel, and have been implemented in other countries such as Australia, France, Thailand and the United Kingdom since as early as 2012. Major tobacco firms have attempted to challenge such measures abroad for unconstitutionality, albeit to no avail.
The SP Measure does raise concerns that the plain designs could lead to an increase of counterfeit cigarette products. While this potential consequence remains to be seen, the MOH has sought to assure stakeholders that the risk of increased counterfeits is unlikely as counterfeit products do not form a significant proportion of illicit cigarette seizures. The relatively small size of the Singapore market is also said to serve as a further disincentive to cigarette manufacturers to counterfeit cigarettes for sale.
Further details about the SP Measure can be found here.
For further information, please contact:
Andy Leck, Principal, Baker & McKenzie.Wong & Leow
andy.leck@bakermckenzie.com
