England's new cigarette marketing rules

From May 2016, the familiar brand colours and logos will no longer appear on packs of Marlboro and every other well-known brand of cigarettes sold in England. Instead, all cigarettes will be sold in standardised, 'plain' packaging, complete with easy-to-read health warnings. The new rules, years in the making, are designed to discourage children from smoking.

Brands are battling back by preparing legal action to force the UK government to compensate them for the loss of value of intellectual property, namely the considerable financial value of their instantly-recognised brands. 'We respect the government’s authority to regulate in the public interest, but wiping out trademarks simply goes too far', according to Philip Morris International’s senior vice president and general counsel.

Electronic cigarette marketing must adhere to different government standards. For instance, e-cigarettes can now be advertised on television if not associated with youth culture or set to appeal to under-age buyers. Grocery retailers are seeing large increases in e-cig purchasing, in fact.