NEW YORK CITY (dpa-AFX) - Cigarette maker Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) said it was disappointed with an English Court's decision to uphold the UK's plain packaging regulations.
In May 2015, Philip Morris and other companies sought a ruling on whether those regulations, which make it illegal to use registered trademarks, were a proportionate public health measure and compliant with English law.
Marc Firestone, Senior Vice President and General Counsel of PMI, said, 'We are certainly disappointed but understand that the English Court ultimately deferred to the Parliament's judgment about cigarette packaging. Inexplicably, however, the Court's reasoning relies heavily on a 2006 decision by a judge in the United States in a case about US law to which PMI was not even a party, and did not concern plain packaging.'
However, the company said it will not appeal the decision. Instead, it will maintain its focus on efforts to develop and commercialize scientifically substantiated reduced-risk products that it believes will ultimately benefit UK smokers and public health much more than plain packaging.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX