Why UK cigarettes could get Australian health warnings

Tobacco products sold in the UK will feature Australian health warnings in the event of a no-deal Brexit, the Department of Health has announced.

Health warnings accompanied by graphic images of smoking-related illnesses have been a feature of tobacco packaging in the UK since 2009.

However, in August it emerged that the copyright for the images, which appear on all tobacco products sold in the EU, belongs to the European Commission. If the UK leaves the EU without a comprehensive deal, it would no longer have the right to use the pictures.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

In the event of a no-deal Brexit scenario, “manufacturers will need to ensure that tobacco products produced from exit day onwards feature new picture warnings,” the Department of Health said in a public consultation document released yesterday.

Cigarette, tobacco and cigar packaging produced before “exit day” using pictures from the EU library could still be sold in the UK for 12 months following Brexit.

The department has now revealed that it has struck a deal with the Australian government to use their own image library of tobacco warnings.

The Australian labels are “similar in style and context to the current images”, says the London Evening Standard, and includes graphic photos of a clogged artery, a lung tumour and an ulcerous foot.

“The change is one of many small ways in which a ‘no-deal’ Brexit could affect British life,” says the BBC.

Other pitfalls flagged up by government departments include the potential return of data roaming charges for British visitors in the EU and whether UK driving licences will remain valid.