British American Tobacco New Zealand (BATNZ) is today launching a major campaign to highlight the adverse consequences of the Government’s plain packaging proposal.

The Government’s proposal to force tobacco into plain packages would strip away the legal right of companies to use their intellectual property, says BATNZ.

"We are strongly opposed to plain packaging. The branding on our packs has been created over many years and it belongs to us, just as any company’s branding belongs to them," says Steve Rush, BATNZ General Manager.

"Our branding is property - intellectual property - and the Government shouldn’t be able to just take that away.

"We’ll also be highlighting concerns that plain packaging is at odds with international trade principles; that it sets a troubling precedent and that it has the potential to increase the size of the illegal tobacco market," Mr Rush says.

"We agree that tobacco is harmful, but we disagree that plain packaging will work. It’s unsound policy and potentially counterproductive," says Mr Rush.

BATNZ’s campaign is timed to coincide with the Government’s consultation process on plain packaging. For more information please go to www.AgreeDisagree.co.nz