THE TELEGRAPH: Philip Morris, the tobacco giant, is planning to take the Norwegian state to court in an attempt to overturn a law in the Scandinavian country banning the display of cigarettes in stores.
Following in the footsteps of several other Western countries like Ireland and Iceland, Norway on January 1 this year banned the display of cigarettes in stores in an attempt to cut impulse buys of tobacco products. In Norway, cigarettes have been banished to closed cases, while cigarette dispensers may no longer display brand labels.
The company, which manufactures Marlboro, said in a statement on Tuesday: "Philip Morris Norway (PMN) will today start legal proceedings to overturn the ban on displaying tobacco products in retail stores."
A spokesman for the group said: "Display bans have had no impact on reducing smoking in the countries that have implemented them, a fact acknowledged by the Norwegian Ministry of Health and Care Services."
"These regulations prevent adult consumers from seeing the available product range and overly restrict competition," she said, adding that "we have raised these issues with the government to no avail, which has regrettably left us with no choice but to litigate." >>> | Tuesday, March 09, 2010
