Bbc news – australia cigarette plain packaging law upheld by court
April 5th, 2014
Australia’s highest court has upheld a new government law on mandatory packaging for cigarettes that removes brand colours and logos from packaging.
The law requires cigarettes to be sold in olive green packets, with graphic images warning of the consequences of smoking.
Leading global tobacco manufacturers, including British American Tobacco and Philip Morris, had challenged the law.
The new packaging rules are scheduled to be implemented from 1 December 2012.
“At least a majority of the court is of the opinion that the Act is not contrary to (Australia’s constitution),” the court said in a brief statement.
The full judgement is expected to be published on a later date.
‘Still a bad law’
The law was passed by the government last year. Authorities have said that plain packaging of cigarettes will help reduce the number of smokers in the country.
Australian cigarette packets may soon look like this
However, tobacco manufacturers have argued that removing their brand names and company colours from packets will lead to a drastic cut in profits.
They have also warned that it may result in fake products entering the market.
“It’s still a bad law that will only benefit organised crime groups which sell illegal tobacco on our streets,” said Scott McIntyre, spokesman for British American Tobacco (BAT) Australia.
Sonia Stewart, spokesperson for Imperial Tobacco, added that “the legislation will make the counterfeiters’ job both cheaper and easier by mandating exactly how a pack must look”.
Cigarette manufacturers have also claimed that the law is unconstitutional and infringes on their intellectual property rights by banning the use of brands and trademarks.
However, BAT’s Mr McIntyre said the firms will comply with the new rules.
“Even though we believe the government has taken our property from us, we’ll ensure our products comply with the plain packaging requirements and implementation dates.”
‘Deluge of legislation’
Australia’s new tough packaging laws are the first of their kind to be implemented in the world.
However, many other countries such as New Zealand, India, the UK and even some states in the US have been contemplating taking similar measures in a bid to reduce the number of smokers.
Best electronic cigarette reviews
Compare electronic cigarettes: cost, features, quality & ratings
Here’s some quick and dirty bullet points
V2 Cigs
- Great overall product, quality, flavors and throat hit if you are looking for something that is real close to a real cigarette, this may be your answer. (My sister tried a V2 Red flavor and said they were too much like a real cigarette for her Martin).
- Tons and tons of extra options such as mini tanks (EX Banks) and very sleek portable charging cases, new batteries (EX batteries), color options and you can customize starter kits.
- They also have numerous options for substantial savings via referral incentives and refill liquid.
Official Website
Use our V2 Cigs Coupons and save money on your purchase!
VaporZone
- Awesome selection of advanced personal vaporizers with features such as variable voltage, puff counter. If you are looking for upgraded cigs, or ego style batteries, check out this company!
- Massive selection of high quality excellent tasting e liquids which you can customize!
Official Website
South Beach Smoke
- Great quality and product. Nice flavor selection and super cool e cig tips.
- Also highly rated across many consumer reviews.
- Their charging case is a very cool little gadget with some LED lights for you tech geeks, and excellent battery life!
Official Website
Halo
- Nice battery life, and super sleek design and feel. The short manual battery produces some serious vape.
- Really easy to refill cartridges, as you can remove the end piece by hand if you don’t jam it in there.
- Refill liquids
- Upgraded Triton battery, for extra long life this is bigger than the standard battery size.
Official Website
Use our Halo coupon for purchases to save some money!
Bull Smoke
- Nice product and flavors, comparable to V2.
- Starter kit prices.
- And starter kit prices!
Official Website
Green Smoke
- Once again, great overall product, quality and flavors. Pretty close to a real cig, and we think you can’t go wrong with this.
- Cartridges last a long time, real thick vapor, and nice battery life.
- Cool accessories such as the USB e cig.
Official Website
Best Of E Cig Aspects
Those are our top picks overall, and here are the best of the different aspects of the electronic cigarettes listed, to help you fine tune
- Best Price for Cartridge Refills V2 Cigs ($9.95 for 5 cartridges)
- Cheapest Starter Kit Bull Smoke hands down with $29.95 for a starter kit with 2 batteries and 10 cartridges. (Comparatively, as pricing is a top priority for many, V2 and South Beach kits both cost $59.95 for the same components, the Green Smoke kit is $59.97 with 5 cartridges, 1 battery and one cig that plugs into a USB, and the Halo G6 is $44.99 with 2 batteries and 5 cartridges).
- Best Flavor V2 Cigs Red
- Best Battery Mini manual Halo Battery (charges in like an hour, and lasts much longer than other proportionately sized batteries).
- Longest Lasting Battery For standard sized e cigs this is close, the long batteries from South Beach, Bull Smoke and V2, and the standard Green Smoke are all good for a number of hours. The longest lasting most powerful short battery is the manual 65mm Halo. If you want an upgraded battery that lasts for hours and aren’t concerned with the size, check out the Halo Triton.
- Coolest Accessory South Beach Smoke Portable Charging Case with LED lights
- Sexiest Aesthetics Halo
- Coolest Color Ever If aesthetics will clinch the deal for you, check out the Halo Iridescence Triton Battery pictured to the right >
- Best Disposable V2
- Thickest Vapor Green Smoke
- Most Vapor Volume Standard V2 cartridges
- Longest Lasting Cartridges Green Smoke
- Cheapest To Maintain V2 and Halo (since they stock refill liquid which is a nice savings).
- Most Accessories and Options V2 check out their super sexy carrying cases, charging cases, battery color options, and the Ultimate Kit has all the bells and whistles.
- Biggest Throat Hit Go for high nicotine 1.8% or 2.4% (18mg and 24mg respectively), all 5 listed above have nice throat hits, V2′ s 18mg flavors seem to smack the back of your throat just a bit more than the others at 18mg, and even some other higher strength ones.
Best E Cigarette Mods & Tanks
If you’re looking for upgraded electronic batteries, tanks etc, check out VaporZone. They have a real nice line of tank systems and upgraded batteries etc. They also have a HUGE selection of e liquid flavors, and you can customize your flavor by mixing flavors etc. Pictured here are 4 of their products, from the left is the Rebel (for taking things to a serious next level), the Pro, Pulse and Jet. They also have standard e cigs with cartridges, so they cover everything. Their website is Everything about them feels high quality, between the look and feel of the product line, and their flavors are real good!
Anyways, we’re pretty excited about what else is to come, as there were a number of headlines about the electronic cigarette industry, just this past week early June 2013. One is that NJoy is creating an e cig that they claim is just like a real cigarette. Also, they announced, just today (June 7, 2013), that Reynolds (who’s the #2 largest cigarette
manufacturer) is launching their own electronic cigarette. Here’s the article in The New York Post. It seems like a great time to be getting into smokeless cigarettes for tons of reasons. For more news, check out our page for e cigs in the news
Electronic Cigarette Brands and Reviews Here at
This isn’t too complicated.. There are quite a few good e cigarettes out there, and with a couple of the top ones, you can’t really go wrong. That being said, as you can see above, we do have our favorites, and explain why in our review pages (see below). There are a number of brands that create an excellent product line, with the super competitive market that electronic cigarettes have become. Each brand does have a distinct flavor, and so it may be very worth your time to try more than one, as you may try one that is good enough, and another may seal the deal, and just hit that spot. When you factor in the cost savings, it’s pretty much a no brainer, nevermind some of the nice aspects of vaping cigarettes as opposed to tobacco burning cigarettes, with ash and the smell of cigarettes being two big factors. For our reviews below, we looked for the top rated brands by consumers, and to see how they are against each other and created our favorites on this page.
Reviews Of Our Top Picks
- V2 Cigs
- Vapor Zone
- South Beach Smoke
- Green Smoke
- Bull Smoke
- Halo
When starting out, you may want to consider a starter kit. Check out our page comparing some of the best basic starter kits here.
Where To Buy Our Top Picks
Visit any of these sites from our top 5 list to get started and buy your own electronic cigarette and start saving some serious cash
Go here for our reviews of other electronic cigarettes.
Save Cash On Select Brands
Check out our coupon codes & discounts here for savings on V2, South Beach Smoke and Green Smoke. Thanks for visiting, and please comment with any useful feedback or questions you have.
Check Us Out On Facebook!
Make sure to check back here, or follow us on our Facebook page. We are talking to some companies about running some promotions, giveaways, and some other stuff you will like, so keep your eye out. Update September 2013 We have started our giveaway contests. Make sure to read our posts to learn how to enter! We have partnered with V2 Cigs and South Beach Smoke for some starter kit giveaways, keep an eye out for the next ones!
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