{"id":255,"date":"2010-03-16T11:41:24","date_gmt":"2010-03-16T11:41:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/norwegian\/?p=255"},"modified":"2014-08-21T20:32:15","modified_gmt":"2014-08-21T20:32:15","slug":"phillip-morris-sues-norway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/norwegian\/phillip-morris-sues-norway\/","title":{"rendered":"Phillip Morris Sues Norway"},"content":{"rendered":"

R\u00f8yker du?<\/strong>\u00a0 Do you smoke?\u00a0 Get a load of this.<\/p>\n

And just to forwarn you, if you are a smoker, I mean in no way to offend you.\u00a0 I smoke occasionally myself.\u00a0 Just informing you and commenting as objectively as I can on an issue.<\/p>\n

On January 1, the Norwegian government banned the display of tobakk <\/strong>(tobacco) products in retail stores.\u00a0 Out of sight, out of mind, right?\u00a0 That’s the whole theory-if consumers don’t see the dozens of kinds of tobakk when they are at the counter purchasing their items, hopefully fewer impulse buys will result.\u00a0 Iceland enforced a similar ban in 2001 and the numbers of smokers has gone down since.\u00a0 Of course there is no proof that the reason for declining numbers of r\u00f8ykere is a result of the ban, but who’s to say it hasn’t?\u00a0 So who is stepping in to argue this ban?\u00a0 Only Phillip Morris International, the largest tobacco company in the world.<\/p>\n

Phillip Morris Norway spokesperson, Anne Edwards, states that PMI has raised the issue with the Norwegian government with no success, so the company has chosen litigation.\u00a0 So, to sum it up, Phillip Morris is taking Norway to court<\/em>.\u00a0 PMI argues that the ban on displaying tobacco products is unfair to consumers because they can’t see all of the available products.\u00a0 Well, PMI, I think that’s the whole point.\u00a0 Spokeswoman Edwards has also said that the ban restricts competition.\u00a0 According to ‘The Foreigner’ online, Phillip Morris Norway’s lawyer, Jan Magne Juuhl-Langseth\u00a0believes ”the veto contravenes Article 11 of the EEA agreement by limiting free movement of goods within the area.”\u00a0 To that I would have to say that the free movement of goods is not being limited.\u00a0 The goods are still there, they just aren’t staring you in the face saying ”r\u00f8yk meg, r\u00f8yk meg!”<\/strong>\u00a0 Smoke me, smoke me!<\/p>\n

You know, Bjoern-Inge Larsen, heads\u00a0of the\u00a0Norwegian Directorate of Health makes a good point-if PMI really thought that concealing tobacco products from consumers wasn’t going to have any affect on the number of r\u00f8ykere, then why would the company pursue legal action?\u00a0 Why wouldn’t they just shrug their shoulders and say ”oh well, it’s not going to make a difference anyways.”\u00a0 I think PMI is scared that the ban will have a negative impact on their sales.<\/p>\n

The ban makes sense to me.\u00a0 I’ll admit that if I see gum or chapstick-I guess they are my two vices at bensinstasjoner<\/strong> (gas stations) or apoteker<\/strong> (pharmacies)-I probably won’t even think about buying them.\u00a0 But if I see them, I think to myself, “oh I’m almost out of gum” or “I lose my chapstick so often, I better buy a couple.”\u00a0 Tobakk<\/strong> is definitely more physically addictive than gum or chapstick, so if I have the impulse buy problem with my vices (sad as they are), r\u00f8ykere<\/strong> (smokers) probably have a really hard time resisiting the urge to buy tobakk<\/strong> if they see it in front of them.<\/p>\n

It will certainly be interesting to see what happens with this in court.\u00a0 This case apparently raises some concerns and questions that have not previously been explored to this extent.\u00a0 Stay tuned!<\/p>\n

I think if tobacco packaging says in big bold letters that ‘smoking\u00a0kills’ and people still choose to buy them and smoke them, it’s ok to keep them under the counter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

R\u00f8yker du?\u00a0 Do you smoke?\u00a0 Get a load of this. And just to forwarn you, if you are a smoker, I mean in no way to offend you.\u00a0 I smoke occasionally myself.\u00a0 Just informing you and commenting as objectively as I can on an issue. On January 1, the Norwegian government banned the display of…<\/p>\n

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