G/TBT/W/363  
IP/C/W/586  
27 March 2013  
(13-1667)  Page: 1/2  
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual 
Property Rights 
 Original: English  
 
NEW ZEALAND - PROPOSAL TO INTRODUCE PLAIN PACKAGING OF TOBACCO PRODUCTS 
IN NEW ZEALAND 
INFORMATION PROVIDED BY NEW ZEALAND TO THE COMMITTEE ON TECHNICAL BARRIERS  
TO TRADE AT ITS MEETING OF 6-7 MARCH 2013 AND TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE-RELATED 
ASPECTS OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS AT ITS MEETING OF 5-6 MARCH 2013 
The following communication, dated 26 March 2013, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of New Zealand. 
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1.1.  On 19 February 2013, the New Zealand Government announced its decision to work towards 
the introduction of a 'plain packaging' regime for all tobacco products in New Zealand. 
1.2.  The decision to work towards the introduc tion of a plain packaging regime was taken to 
advance New Zealand's public health objectives and follows a comprehensive public consultation 
process. The consultation process was notified to this Committee in July last year (G/TBT/N/NZL/62). The consultation period closed on 5 October 2012. The public consultation 
process was conducted on the basis of two main documents: the Proposal to Introduce Plain 
Packaging of Tobacco Products in New Zealand  and a Regulatory Impact Statement. These 
documents are available on the New Zealand Ministry of Health's website: 
 Consultation document: http://www.health.govt.nz/publication/proposal-introduce-plain-
packaging-tobacco-products-new-zealand  
 Regulatory Impact Statement: http://www.health.govt.nz/abo ut-ministry/legislation-and-
regulation/regulatory-impact-statements/plain-packaging-tobacco-products  
1.3.  The public consultation process generated a number of submissions from interested parties in 
New Zealand and around the world. A summary of submitted views, and other relevant documents, have just been published on the New Ze aland Ministry of Health's website. Interested 
members can view this material on the New Zealand Ministry of Health's website: 
 http://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/preventati ve-health-wellness/to bacco-control/plain-
packaging . 
1.4.  Submissions received through the consultation process were used to inform the 
Government's decision to work towards the introduction of a plain packaging regime for tobacco 
products. This decision was made in order to protect public health. Smoking is the single largest cause of preventable death and disease in New Zealand, with approximately 5,000 
New Zealanders dying each year from smoking or exposure to second-hand smoke. In particular, 
New Zealand's indigenous people, the M āori, are overrepresented in all negative smoking 
statistics, with the preval ence of smoking among M āori almost double that of the general 
population. G/TBT/W/363 - IP/C/W/586 
 
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  1.5.  New Zealand is determined to continue tackling this tobacco epidemic, and takes the 
negative impact on public health of tobacco cons umption very seriously. For this reason, in 2010 
the Government adopted the goal of making New Zealand essentially smoke-free by 2025. There is strong evidence that plain packaging, as part of a comprehensive tobacco control programme, 
will contribute to this goal. Details of this evidence were included in the consultation documents. In 
particular, plain packaging will: 
 Reduce the appeal of tobacco products and smoking, particularly for young people; 
 Reduce the wider social acceptance and approval of smoking and tobacco use; 
 Increase the noticeability and effectiveness of mandated health warnings and images; and 
 Reduce the likelihood of consumers acquiring false perceptions about the harms of tobacco 
products. 
1.6.  When combined with New Zealand's existing package of tobacco control measures, plain 
packaging will contribute to our broader objective of improving public health by: 
 Discouraging people from taking up smoking, or using tobacco products; 
 Encouraging people to give up smoking, and to stop using tobacco products; 
 Discouraging people who have given up smok ing, or who have stopped using tobacco 
products, from relapsing; 
 Reducing people's exposure to smoke from tobacco products; and 
 Supporting New Zealand to meet its international commitments and obligations under the 
World Health Organisation Framewor k Convention on Tobacco Control. 
1.7.  The decision to work towards the introduction  of a plain packaging regime is part of a long 
policy development process that will continue for some time yet. This year New Zealand officials 
will commence the process of developing draft en abling legislation providing for a plain packaging 
regime, and detailed regulations to implement the regime will be developed subsequently. There 
will be opportunities during this process for intere sted parties to express their views on the design 
of the measure. We will notify the WTO at an a ppropriate time in order to facilitate such input. 
 
 
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