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• Philip Morris Limited and Independent Retailer Announce Joint Lawsuit Challenging Irish Tobacco Display Ban  

Philip Morris Limited (PML), Philip Morris Products S.A. (PMPSA) and Maurice Timony, an independent retailer from Donegal, have announced that they will file a joint lawsuit seeking to overturn the ban on display of tobacco products at retail stores in Ireland.

The lawsuit will be filed before the High Court in Dublin on October 6, 2009. Plaintiffs will be challenging the tobacco display ban on the grounds that it severely restricts their ability to provide trade and services thus violating Irish constitutional law and EU law. The tobacco display ban came into effect in Ireland on July 1, 2009. Outside Ireland, a display ban exists in Iceland as well as some provinces of Canada.

"We know from our experience in Iceland that a total ban on tobacco display does not work, is costly to implement and ineffective at reducing smoking levels," said Anne Edwards, spokesperson for PML. "We support strict tobacco regulation, but this legislation just serves to hand the tobacco business over to smugglers and counterfeiters.

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