Singapore's standardised packaging rules will be introduce 1 July 2020, and will see all tobacco products have plain packaging

Singapore will implement the ban in July 2020 (Credit Pixabay)

Singapore will implement the ban in July 2020 (Credit: Pixabay)

All tobacco products will be sold in standardised packaging alongside enlarged graphic health warnings in Singapore from July next year, the country’s Ministry of Health (MOH) has announced.

The requirements will see the removal of all logos, colours, images and promotional information on the packaging of tobacco products.

It will also observe an increase in the minimum size of the mandatory graphic health warnings increasing from the existing 50% to 75% for all specified tobacco product packaging surfaces.

The MOH said: “The standardised packaging measure for tobacco products will, in conjunction with other tobacco control measures, contribute to achieving broader tobacco control aims such as discouraging non-smokers from picking up smoking, encouraging smokers to quit, and encouraging Singaporeans to adopt a tobacco-free lifestyle, which will ultimately lead to reduced smoking prevalence.”

It follows on from the MOH announcing it would implement the measure in October 2018, after extensive process of reviewing and evaluating the available international and local studies, as well as several rounds of public consultations.

Following on from this was a passage of amendments made to the initial Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) Act in March 2019, introducing subsidiary legislation to implement the measure for all tobacco products in Singapore and their packaging and labelling.

 

What else will be implemented through the standardised packaging measure in Singapore?

The set standard for the packaging of all tobacco products will have a deliberately unattractive brown colour, with the internal surface being either white in colour or if it is made with metal or wood, it being the colour of the material used.

Alongside this, the products are not allowed to have any decorative feature, shape, texture or other embellishment.

Any appearance of brand or variant name on retail packages will be standardised, and must appear in same locations on every product.

All packaging sizes, shapes and materials will also be the same, as well as with the opening of the cigarette packs across all manufacturers.

Brands must also follow the same singular of combination of colours, and cannot carry any markings except the Singapore Duty-Paid Cigarette marking, with cigar bands having a standardised format, colour and location, as well.

There will be a three-month transition period from 1 April to 30 June 2020, to help tobacco manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers to adjust and prepare for the full implementation of standardised packaging.

Non-compliance after 1 July will be punishable with a fine not exceeding 10,000 Singaporean dollars ($7,000), imprisonment for a term of up to six months or both for first time offenders.

 

Other countries to have brought in standardised packaging for products

When fully implemented, Singapore will become the 15th country in the world to have implemented standardised plain packaging across all of its tobacco brands.

The original trailblazer was Australia, which passed the Tobacco Plain Packaging Act in November 2011, which saw royal assent from the country’s governor-general a month later.

This act was not introduced until December 2012 however, due to a high court challenge by major tobacco companies including British American, Philip Morris, Imperial Tobacco and Japan Tobacco.

Speaking at the time, then-Australian Health Minister Tanya Plibersek said: “This is a victory for all those families who have lost someone to tobacco-related illness.”

The country to implement such a policy was the UK in 2017, which became the first of four European nations to bring in standardised packaging.