Tobacco Maker Philip Morris International Sues Dutch Government Over Ingredients Disclosure Law
Jump to full article: AP, 2003-08-28
Intro: Tobacco maker Philip Morris International filed suit against the Dutch government Thursday, seeking to prevent the country from enforcing a law ordering cigarette makers to reveal the ingredients of their products.
Philip Morris argued in the suit filed at The Hague that the law amounted to a demand for the company to reveal its trade secrets, and make "cigarette brand recipes available to competitors and counterfeiters."
"It's about the additives that go in during the manufacturing process that give a brand its distinctive taste and flavor," said company spokeswoman Nerida White.
Dutch Health Ministry spokesman Bas Kuik said the Dutch law was "exactly in line" with a similar demand for information laid down by the European Union
Jump to full article » |