Oct. 5, 2009 (Business Wire) -- Philip Morris Limited (PML), Philip Morris Products S.A. (PMPSA) and Maurice Timony, an independent retailer from Donegal, have announced that they will file a joint lawsuit seeking to overturn the ban on display of tobacco products at retail stores in Ireland.
The lawsuit will be filed before the High Court in Dublin on October 6, 2009. Plaintiffs will be challenging the tobacco display ban on the grounds that it severely restricts their ability to provide trade and services thus violating Irish constitutional law and EU law. The tobacco display ban came into effect in Ireland on July 1, 2009. Outside Ireland, a display ban exists in Iceland as well as some provinces of Canada.
“We know from our experience in Iceland that a total ban on tobacco display does not work, is costly to implement and ineffective at reducing smoking levels,” said Anne Edwards, spokesperson for PML. “We support strict tobacco regulation, but this legislation just serves to hand the tobacco business over to smugglers and counterfeiters. Ireland already has one of the worst illegal cigarette problems in the EU, and this ban is making it worse. No one likes to litigate, but we have unfortunately arrived at a point where we see no alternative. By taking this action, we ask the Irish government, ‘what type of industry do you want?’ One that is legitimate, and supports effective regulation, or one that is run by criminal gangs selling cheap, illegal cigarettes on street corners?’”
Commenting on his decision to challenge the ban, Mr. Maurice Timony, owner of Timony News in Donegal, said, “I am a licensed retailer who pays a license fee to the government to sell tobacco products. Currently, the country is swamped in legislation that is making life very difficult for compliant retailers like me. The ban on display of cigarettes is just one example of a piece of over regulation that has not been well thought through and has negatively affected my business. As a compliant, law-abiding retailer I have a responsibility to my employees to make sure that I can continue to employ them going forward. Simply put, ‘enough is enough.’ The display ban threatens my business and I have therefore decided to take a stand against it.”
The plaintiffs are not seeking changes to the law prohibiting smoking in public places or that prohibit tobacco advertising. The goal of the lawsuit is to allow licensed tobacconists and retailers to display tobacco products in their stores.
Philip Morris International
Philip Morris International (PMI) [NYSE/Euronext Paris: PM] is the leading international tobacco company, with seven of the world’s top 15 brands including Marlboro, the number one cigarette brand worldwide. PMI has more than 75,000 employees and its products are sold in approximately 160 countries.
