1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Standardised Packaging of Tobacco Products Regulations 2015.
(2) These Regulations come into force on 20th May 2016.
2.—(1) In these Regulations—
“appropriate minister”—
in relation to England, means the Secretary of State,
in relation to Wales, means the Welsh Ministers,
in relation to Northern Ireland, means the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, and
in relation to Scotland, means the Scottish Ministers;
“brand name”, in relation to a particular tobacco product, means the primary name by which the product is known;
“calibration mark” means a mark that is used only for the purpose of the automated manufacture of any packaging;
“characterising flavour”, in relation to a tobacco product, means a clearly noticeable smell or taste, other than one of tobacco, which—
results from an additive or a combination of additives, including (but not limited to) fruit, spice, herbs, alcohol, candy, menthol or vanilla, and
is noticeable before or during the consumption of the tobacco product;
“cigar” means a tobacco product that can be consumed by means of a combustion process and (given its properties and normal consumer expectations) is exclusively intended to be smoked as it is, and which is either—
a roll of tobacco (or of tobacco and another substance) which has an outer wrapper of natural tobacco, or
a roll of tobacco (or of tobacco and another substance) which—
has an outer wrapper—
of the normal colour of a cigar,
made of reconstituted tobacco, and
covering the product in full (including the filter but not, in the case of a cigar with a mouthpiece, the mouthpiece),
is filled with a threshed blend of tobacco (or of tobacco and another substance),
has a unit weight, not including any filter or mouthpiece, of not less than 2.3 grams and not more than 10 grams, and
has a circumference, over at least one third of its length, of not less than 34 millimetres;
“cigarette” means a tobacco product that can be consumed by means of a combustion process and which is either—
a roll of tobacco (or of tobacco and another substance) which is capable of being smoked as it is, but which is not a cigar, or
a roll of tobacco (or of tobacco and another substance) which is designed to be, by simple non-industrial handling—
wrapped in cigarette paper, or
inserted into a cigarette-paper tube;
“consumer” means an individual who is acting for purposes which are outside the individual’s trade, business, craft or profession;
“container packet”, in relation to a tobacco product, means any packaging—
in which that product is, or is intended to be, presented for retail sale, and
which encloses (whether wholly or partially)—
a unit packet of that product, or
an aggregation of such unit packets;
and where there is more than one separate layer of such packaging each such layer is to be regarded as a separate container packet for the purposes of these Regulations; but any reference in this definition to packaging does not include a wrapper;
“cross-border distance sale”, in relation to a tobacco product, means a distance sale to a consumer where, at the time the consumer orders the product from a retailer, the consumer is located in a member State other than the member State or the third country where the retailer is established; and for the purposes of this definition a retailer is deemed to be established in a member State—
in the case of an individual, if the individual’s place of business is in that member State, and
in any other case, if the retailer has its statutory seat, central administration or place of business, including a branch, agency or any other establishment, in that member State;
“enactment” means an enactment contained in, or in an instrument made under—
an Act of Parliament,
an Act of the Scottish Parliament,
a Measure or Act of the National Assembly for Wales, or
Northern Ireland legislation, within the meaning of the Interpretation Act 1978(1);
“external packaging”—
in relation to a unit packet of a tobacco product (other than a unit packet mentioned in paragraph (b)), means every surface of the packet that is visible before the packet is opened,
in relation to a unit packet of hand rolling tobacco in the form of a pouch, means every surface of the pouch that is visible before the pouch is opened, together with the hidden surface of the pouch in a case where the pouch takes the form of a rectangular pocket with a flap that covers the opening, and
in relation to a container packet of a tobacco product, means every surface of the packet that is visible before the packet is opened;
and for the purposes of this definition “visible” includes visible through any wrapper permitted by paragraph 4 of Schedule 2 or 4 or any tab which complies with paragraph 3(1) of Schedule 4;
“hand rolling tobacco” means a tobacco product which is not a cigarette and which can be used after retail sale for making cigarettes;
“hidden surface”, in relation to a pouch of hand rolling tobacco in the form of a rectangular pocket with a flap that covers the opening, means the surface of the pouch which—
becomes visible when the flap is opened, but
is not the underside surface of the flap or any surface of the inside of the pocket;
“internal packaging”, in relation to a unit packet or container packet of a tobacco product, means so much of that packet as does not comprise the external packaging of that packet;
“packaging”, in relation to a tobacco product, has its ordinary meaning and (without limiting that meaning) includes any material that is—
an integral part of the packaging of the product,
required as part of the packaging process, or
required to protect the product;
“pouch” means a unit packet of hand rolling tobacco in the form of—
a rectangular pocket with a flap that covers the opening, or
a standing pouch;
“retail sale” means sale otherwise than to a person who is acting in the course of a business which is part of the tobacco trade;
“tobacco” means leaves and other natural processed or unprocessed parts of tobacco plants, including expanded and reconstituted tobacco;
“tobacco product” means a product that can be consumed and consists, even partly, of tobacco, whether genetically modified or not;
“travel retail sector” means retail outlets in the United Kingdom at which tobacco products may be purchased only by people travelling on journeys to destinations outside the United Kingdom;
“unit packet”, in relation to a tobacco product, means the smallest individual packaging (whether enclosed by a container packet or not) in which that product is, or is intended to be, presented for retail sale, but does not include any wrapper;
“variant name”, in relation to a particular tobacco product, means any name by which that product is distinguished from other tobacco products under the same brand name;
“wrapper”, in relation to a tobacco product, means a cellophane or plastic wrapper—
in which that product is, or is intended to be, presented for retail sale, and
which encloses (whether wholly or partially)—
a unit packet of that product,
an aggregation of such unit packets which is not contained in a container packet, or
a container packet of that product.
(2) Expressions used in these Regulations and in the Trade Marks Act 1994(2) have the same meaning as in that Act.
(3) References in these Regulations to the front and back surfaces of a unit packet or container packet of a tobacco product are to the two largest surfaces of the external packaging of the packet, but—
(a)in relation to a unit packet of hand rolling tobacco in the form of a pouch, the hidden surface is to be disregarded for the purposes of this paragraph, and
(b)this paragraph is subject to paragraph (4).
(4) References in these Regulations to the front and back surfaces of a unit packet or container packet of hand rolling tobacco which is cylindrical in shape are to what are the two opposite halves of the curved surface of the external packaging of the packet if the curved surface is divided equally along a vertical plane.
(5) For the purposes of these Regulations a person produces a tobacco product if, in the course of a business and with a view to the product being supplied for consumption in the United Kingdom or through the travel retail sector, the person—
(a)manufactures the product,
(b)puts a name, trade mark or other distinguishing mark on it by which the person is held out to be its manufacturer or originator, or
(c)imports it into the United Kingdom,
and “producer” is to be construed accordingly.
(6) For the purposes of these Regulations a person supplies a tobacco product if, in the course of a business, the person—
(a)supplies the product—
(i)for consumption in the United Kingdom or through the travel retail sector, or
(ii)with a view to the product being supplied for consumption in the United Kingdom or through the travel retail sector,
(b)offers or agrees to supply it in those circumstances, or
(c)exposes or possesses it for supply in those circumstances.
(7) In the case of a cross-border distance sale of a tobacco product where the consumer is located in the United Kingdom, the tobacco product is to be treated for the purposes of these Regulations as supplied, and presented for retail sale, in the United Kingdom.
3.—(1) No person may produce or supply any cigarettes in breach of any of the provisions of this regulation or Schedule 1 (exceptions to paragraphs (2) and (3)).
(2) The only colour or shade permitted on or for the external packaging of a unit packet or container packet of cigarettes is Pantone 448 C with a matt finish, but this is subject to paragraph (4) and Schedule 1.
(3) The only colour or shade permitted on or for the internal packaging of a unit packet or container packet of cigarettes, is either—
(a)white, or
(b)Pantone 448 C with a matt finish,
but this is subject to paragraph (4), Schedule 1 and paragraph 3(1) of Schedule 2.
(4) Nothing in paragraph (2) or (3) prohibits any warning, statement, text, picture, image, symbol or marking which is required by any enactment (whenever passed or made) other than these Regulations; but see paragraph 3 of Schedule 1 which imposes conditions in relation to any text required in accordance with regulation 7(4)(a)(i) of the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (name and address of producer)(3).
4.—(1) No person may produce or supply any cigarettes in breach of any of the provisions of this regulation.
(2) A unit packet of cigarettes must be made of carton or soft material.
(3) A unit packet of cigarettes must be cuboid in shape, although any such cuboid may have bevelled or rounded edges.
(4) A unit packet of cigarettes may contain an opening that can be re-closed or re-sealed after it is first opened but only if that opening is a flip top lid or a shoulder box hinged lid.
(5) A flip-top lid may be hinged only at the back of the packet.
(6) A shoulder box hinged lid may be hinged only along one of the two smallest sides of the packet.
(7) The sides of a unit packet of cigarettes which is a shoulder box with a hinged lid must have a height (measured between the front and back surfaces of the packet) of at least 16 millimetres.
(8) A unit packet of cigarettes must contain a minimum of 20 cigarettes.
5.—(1) No person may produce or supply any cigarettes in breach of any of the provisions of this regulation.
(2) The only colour or shade permitted on or for the paper, casing, filter or other material forming part of a cigarette (apart from the tobacco contained in it) is plain white with a matt finish, but this is subject to the following provisions.
(3) Any paper or casing that surrounds the end of a cigarette that is not designed to be lit may be coloured in such a way as to imitate cork.
(4) A cigarette may have text printed on it to identify the brand name and variant name of the cigarette but only if each of the following conditions is met.
(5) Those conditions are—
(a)that the text appears parallel to, and not more than 38 millimetres from, the end of the cigarette that is not designed to be lit,
(b)that the text does not contain any character which is not alphabetic, numeric or an ampersand,
(c)that the first letter of any word is in upper-case type or lower-case type,
(d)that the rest of any word is in lower-case type,
(e)that the text is printed in Helvetica type,
(f)that the colour of the text is black,
(g)that the text is in a normal, weighted, regular typeface, and
(h)that the size of the text is no larger than 8 point.
6. No person may produce or supply any cigarettes in breach of any of the provisions of Schedule 2 (further provisions about the packaging of cigarettes).
7.—(1) No person may produce or supply any hand rolling tobacco in breach of any of the provisions of this regulation or Schedule 3 (exceptions to paragraphs (2) and (3)).
(2) The only colour or shade permitted on or for the external packaging of a unit packet or container packet of hand rolling tobacco is Pantone 448 C with a matt finish, but this is subject to paragraph (4), Schedule 3 and paragraph 3(1) of Schedule 4.
(3) The only colour or shade permitted on or for the internal packaging of a unit packet or container packet of hand rolling tobacco is either—
(a)white, or
(b)Pantone 448 C with a matt finish,
but this is subject to paragraph (4), Schedule 3 and paragraph 3(2) of Schedule 4.
(4) Nothing in paragraph (2) or (3) prohibits any warning, statement, text, picture, image, symbol or marking which is required by any enactment (whenever passed or made) other than these Regulations; but see paragraph 3 of Schedule 3 which imposes conditions in relation to any text required in accordance with regulation 7(4)(a)(i) of the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (name and address of producer).
8.—(1) No person may produce or supply any hand rolling tobacco in breach of any of the provisions of this regulation.
(2) A unit packet of hand rolling tobacco may take only one of the following forms—
(a)it may be cuboid in shape, although any such cuboid may have bevelled or rounded edges,
(b)it may be cylindrical in shape, or
(c)it may take the form of a pouch.
(3) The sides of a unit packet of hand rolling tobacco which is a shoulder box with a hinged lid must have a height (measured between the front and back surfaces of the packet) of at least 16 millimetres.
(4) A unit packet of hand rolling tobacco must contain at least 30 grams of tobacco.
9. No person may produce or supply any hand rolling tobacco in breach of any of the provisions of Schedule 4 (further provisions about the packaging of hand rolling tobacco).
10.—(1) No person may produce or supply a tobacco product in breach of any of the provisions of this regulation.
(2) The labelling of—
(a)the packaging in which a tobacco product is, or is intended to be, presented for retail sale, or
(b)the product itself,
may not contain any element or feature falling within paragraph (3).
(3) An element or feature falls within this paragraph if it—
(a)promotes a tobacco product or encourages its consumption by creating an erroneous impression about its characteristics, health effects, risks or emissions,
(b)includes any information about the nicotine, tar or carbon monoxide content of a tobacco product,
(c)suggests that a particular tobacco product—
(i)is less harmful than others,
(ii)aims to reduce the effect of some harmful components of smoke,
(iii)has vitalising, energizing, healing, rejuvenating, natural or organic properties, or
(iv)has other health or lifestyle benefits,
(d)refers to taste, smell or any flavourings or other additives, or the absence of any such thing,
(e)resembles a food or a cosmetic product, or
(f)suggests that a particular tobacco product has improved biodegradability or other environmental advantages.
(4) The packaging in which a tobacco product is, or is intended to be, presented for retail sale may not contain any element or feature which suggests economic advantage by including printed vouchers or offering discounts, free distribution, two-for-one or other similar offers.
(5) The elements and features referred to in paragraphs (2) to (4) include (but are not limited to) texts, symbols, names, trade marks, figurative signs and other types of sign.
(6) Nothing in this regulation affects or is affected by any other provision of these Regulations.
11.—(1) No person may produce or supply any cigarettes or hand rolling tobacco if any part of the packaging in which the product is, or is intended to be, presented for retail sale—
(a)makes a noise, or
(b)contains or produces a smell,
that is not normally associated with the packaging of cigarettes or, as the case may be, hand rolling tobacco.
(2) Paragraph (1) does not prohibit any smell in the packaging of cigarettes or hand rolling tobacco which results from any manufacturing process which is designed to give the cigarettes or hand rolling tobacco a characterising flavour that is not prohibited.
12.—(1) No person may produce or supply any cigarettes or hand rolling tobacco if the packaging in which the product is, or is intended to be, presented for retail sale includes any features which are designed to change the packaging after retail sale.
(2) Such features include (but are not limited to)—
(a)heat activated inks,
(b)inks or embellishments designed to appear gradually over time,
(c)inks that appear fluorescent in certain light,
(d)panels designed to be scratched or rubbed to reveal an image or text,
(e)removable tabs, and
(f)fold-out or slide-out panels.
13.—(1) For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in, or done in accordance with, these Regulations—
(a)forms an obstacle to the registration of a trade mark under the Trade Marks Act 1994(4), or
(b)gives rise to a ground for the declaration of invalidity of a registered trade mark under section 47(1) of that Act (grounds for invalidity of registration).
(2) Without limiting paragraph (1), nothing in, or done in accordance with, these Regulations—
(a)causes any trade mark to be contrary to public policy or to accepted principles of morality for the purposes of section 3(3)(a) of that Act (absolute grounds for refusal of registration),
(b)amounts to an enactment or rule of law which prohibits the use of a trade mark for the purposes of section 3(4) of that Act(5),
(c)amounts to a rule of law by which the use in the United Kingdom of any trade mark is liable to be prevented for the purposes of section 5(4) of that Act (relative grounds for refusal of registration),
(d)causes an application for the registration of a trade mark under that Act to be one which is made in bad faith, or
(e)prevents an applicant for the registration of a trade mark under that Act from having such a bona fide intention as is mentioned in section 32(3) of that Act (application for registration of trade mark).
(3) Paragraph (4) applies for the purposes of section 6(3) of the Trade Marks Act 1994 (meaning of “earlier trade mark”) if the trade mark there mentioned is a registered trade mark and its use is affected by these Regulations.
(4) A bona fide use of the trade mark is to be regarded as having taken place during the two years there mentioned if there would have been such use of the trade mark during that period were these Regulations not in force.
(5) Paragraph (6) applies for the purposes of—
(a)section 6A(3) of the Trade Marks Act 1994 (raising of relative grounds in opposition proceedings in case of non-use)(6), or
(b)section 47(2B) of that Act (grounds for invalidity of registration)(7),
if the earlier trade mark there mentioned is a registered trade mark and its use is affected by these Regulations.
(6) If any provision of these Regulations causes any non-use of the trade mark within the period of five years there mentioned, such provision is to be regarded as a proper reason for that non-use, provided that the trade mark would have been put to such genuine use as is there mentioned were these Regulations not in force.
(7) Paragraph (8) applies for the purposes of section 46(1)(a) or (b) of the Trade Marks Act 1994 (revocation of registration) if the use of the registered trade mark there mentioned is affected by these Regulations.
(8) If any provision of these Regulations causes any non-use of the registered trade mark within the period of five years there mentioned, such provision is to be regarded as a proper reason for that non-use, provided that the registered trade mark would have been put to such genuine use as is there mentioned were these Regulations not in force.
(9) To the extent that any provision of the Trade Marks Act 1994 mentioned in this regulation (a “relevant provision”) applies to international trade marks (UK) (whether by virtue of that Act, the Trade Marks (International Registration) Order 2008(8) or otherwise, and whether with or without modifications), then provision made by this regulation in relation to that relevant provision shall also apply (with any necessary modifications) to international trade marks (UK).
14.—(1) For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in, or done in accordance with, these Regulations has the effect that a design may or must be refused registration or declared invalid under the Registered Designs Act 1949(9).
(2) Without limiting paragraph (1), nothing in, or done in accordance with, these Regulations causes any design to be contrary to public policy or to accepted principles of morality for the purposes of section 1D of that Act (designs contrary to public policy or morality)(10).
(3) Paragraph (4) applies for the purposes of section 11ZA(1A)(a) of that Act (grounds for invalidity of registration)(11) if the design to which the later design there mentioned is compared is one whose use is affected by these Regulations.
(4) The design is to be regarded as having been made available to the public on or after the relevant date there mentioned if it would have been so made available on or after that date were these Regulations not in force.
(5) For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in, or done in accordance with, these Regulations amounts to, or permits, any Crown use of a registered design.
(6) In this regulation—
“Crown use” has the same meaning as in paragraph 2A of Schedule 1 to the Registered Designs Act 1949 (compensation for loss of profit)(12);
“design” and “registered design” have the same meaning as in that Act.
15.—(1) A person who produces or supplies a tobacco product in breach of any provision of these Regulations is guilty of an offence.
(2) A person guilty of an offence under this regulation—
(a)is liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months, or a fine, or both, or
(b)on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years, or a fine, or both.
16.—(1) If an offence under these Regulations committed by a body corporate is proved—
(a)to have been committed with the consent or connivance of an officer, or
(b)to be attributable to any neglect on the officer’s part,
the officer as well as the body corporate is guilty of the offence and liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
(2) In paragraph (1) “officer”, in relation to a body corporate, means a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body, or a person purporting to act in any such capacity.
(3) If the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, paragraph (1) applies in relation to the acts and defaults of a member in connection with the member’s functions of management as if that person were a director of the body corporate.
(4) If an offence under these Regulations committed by a partnership in Scotland is proved—
(a)to have been committed with the consent or connivance of a partner, or
(b)to be attributable to any neglect on the partner’s part,
the partner as well as the partnership is guilty of the offence and liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
(5) In paragraph (4) “partner” includes a person purporting to act as a partner
17. In any proceedings for an offence under these Regulations against a person who supplies any tobacco product in breach of any provision of these Regulations, it is a defence that the person neither knew nor had reasonable grounds for suspecting that the tobacco product was supplied in breach of that provision.
18.—(1) For the purpose of enforcement, the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act 1987(13) (apart from sections 12 and 13) are to apply to these Regulations as if these Regulations were safety regulations within the meaning of that Act.
(2) The reference to six months in section 14(6) of the Consumer Protection Act 1987 (imprisonment on summary conviction not to exceed six months), as that section has effect by virtue of paragraph (1), is to be read as a reference to three months.
(3) The appropriate minister may direct, in relation to cases of a particular description or a particular case, that any duty imposed on—
(a)a local weights and measures authority in Great Britain, or
(b)a district council in Northern Ireland,
under section 27 of the Consumer Protection Act 1987(14) (as that section has effect by virtue of paragraph (1)) is to be discharged instead by the appropriate minister.
19.—(1) In section 3(1) of the Children and Young Persons (Protection from Tobacco) Act 1991 (sale of unpackaged cigarettes)(15), omit “pre-packed quantities of 10 or more cigarettes in”.
(2) In article 4(1) of the Children and Young Persons (Protection from Tobacco) (Northern Ireland) Order 1991 (sale of unpackaged cigarettes)(16), omit “pre-packed quantities of 10 or more cigarettes in”.
(3) Regulation 4 of the Tobacco Products (Manufacture, Presentation and Sale) (Safety) Regulations 2002 (statements of yields on packets of cigarettes) is revoked(17).
20.—(1) These Regulations do not apply to the supply before 21st May 2017 of a tobacco product produced before 20th May 2016 if the product complies with the Tobacco Products (Manufacture, Presentation and Sale) (Safety) Regulations 2002 at the date of supply.
(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1), those Regulations are to continue to apply notwithstanding the revocation of any those Regulations by any enactment (whenever passed or made), including regulation 19(3) of these Regulations.
21.—(1) The Secretary of State must from time to time—
(a)carry out a review of these Regulations, in consultation with the appropriate ministers in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland,
(b)set out the conclusions of the review in a report, and
(c)publish the report.
(2) In carrying out the review, the Secretary of State must, so far as is reasonable, have regard to how Articles 13 and 14 of Directive 2014/40/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3rd April 2014 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States concerning the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco and related products and repealing Directive 2001/37/EC(18) (which are implemented by means of regulations 4, 8 and 10 of these Regulations) is implemented in other member States.
(3) The report must in particular—
(a)set out the objectives intended to be achieved by the regulatory system established by these Regulations,
(b)assess the extent to which those objectives are achieved, and
(c)assess whether those objectives remain appropriate and, if so, the extent to which they could be achieved with a system that imposes less regulation.
(4) The first report under this regulation must be published before the end of the period of five years beginning with the day on which these Regulations come into force.
(5) Reports under this regulation are afterwards to be published at intervals not exceeding five years.
Signatory text
Name
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State
Department
Address
Date