S'pore to sell cigarettes in no logo standardised brown packaging covered in gory images

Efforts to stomp out smoking in Singapore have been increasing in recent years.

Some measures, such as bans on advertisements promoting tobacco and cigarettes, as well as displays showing the sale of cigarettes, have gone into effect for a while now.

Others, such as increasingly high taxes and a burgeoning number of designated no-smoking zones to segregate smokers from the rest of society, will continue to be implemented and refined.

No more logos

In the latest move, the Ministry of Health (MOH) plans to propose amendments to the Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) Act in early 2019.

These proposed amendments seek to prohibit cigarette packs from carrying brands, logos or any other information that constitutes as promoting them.

Brand and product names will still be allowed, but they must be standardised in colour and finish.

Standard packaging

It also seeks to standardise the design and packaging.

A drab dark olive-brown colour would be used instead of bright colours for the packaging of cigarettes.

This is used to make cigarette packaging less attractive and persuasive and has already been used in the UK and Australia.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="960"] Image via Gov.uk [/caption]

More gory images

The proposed changes of the amendments also suggest that the infamous gory pictures of stillborn babies and diseased organs, which currently take up 50 percent of the cigarette pack, should be increased to 75 percent.

If enacted, the changes will come into force from 2020.

MOH has also noted that sufficient notice will be given to the companies in the tobacco industry.

Companies are informed about what is required of them to ensure that their tobacco products comply with the packaging amendments.

Some things smokers in Singapore have been experiencing: