煙草在線據(jù)郵報(bào)在線報(bào)道編譯　　南部非洲各國反對(duì)實(shí)施力度更大的迫使它們推行煙草產(chǎn)品平裝的煙草立法。

　　南非煙草協(xié)會(huì)（TISA）的首席執(zhí)行官費(fèi)朗索瓦·凡·德爾·莫威說，包括贊比亞在內(nèi)的各國，對(duì)日益增長的推行侵犯現(xiàn)行合法商標(biāo)的卷煙包裝立法的發(fā)展趨勢感到擔(dān)憂。

　　烏克蘭和洪都拉斯正在恢復(fù)一項(xiàng)在世界貿(mào)易組織提出的爭端，這項(xiàng)爭端對(duì)澳大利亞推行關(guān)于煙草產(chǎn)品外觀與包裝的所謂“平裝”要求的法律提出了投訴。

　　澳大利亞的這項(xiàng)立法將重要的商標(biāo)限制也列入其中，還要求煙草產(chǎn)品以在煙盒正反面都帶有大幅圖片健康警語的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)橄欖綠包裝出售。

　　但凡·德爾·莫威說：“任何通過限制合法產(chǎn)品的商標(biāo)權(quán)，超出了教育公眾關(guān)于煙草危險(xiǎn)性的必要措施，都有在未來數(shù)年內(nèi)，引起很多非預(yù)期后果的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)?！?/p>

　　他說：“極端的立法，例如像澳大利亞的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)化包裝的立法，將使得區(qū)分煙草產(chǎn)品變得困難，使假冒變得更容易，從而導(dǎo)致非法貿(mào)易進(jìn)一步增加?！?/p>

　　他解釋說，煙草產(chǎn)品非法貿(mào)易已經(jīng)在南非地區(qū)占有相當(dāng)大的比例，給整個(gè)煙草價(jià)值鏈的所有利益相關(guān)方造成了影響。

　　凡·德爾·莫威說：“因沒有以證據(jù)和科學(xué)為基礎(chǔ)，沒有進(jìn)行過全面磋商和意見征詢的極端立法而造成的非法貿(mào)易的增加，將會(huì)對(duì)這個(gè)地區(qū)的各國帶來災(zāi)難性的負(fù)面后果?！?/p>

　　“南部非洲發(fā)展共同體成員國津巴布韋、贊比亞和馬拉維都表達(dá)了圍繞極端煙草包裝立法影響的擔(dān)憂，這三個(gè)國家都已經(jīng)通知世界貿(mào)易組織，它們有興趣成為烏克蘭提出的關(guān)于煙草平裝爭端的第三方。這一立場是基于煙草對(duì)它們各自國家經(jīng)濟(jì)的貢獻(xiàn)，正是這一點(diǎn)，使它們拒絕成為其結(jié)果將影響它們的經(jīng)濟(jì)的國際論壇的沉默參會(huì)國和毫無影響力的談判方。”

　　去年12月，澳大利亞推行了煙草平裝，而在澳大利亞的大煙草公司打輸了對(duì)這項(xiàng)立法提出的訴訟官司后，反吸煙施壓組織也進(jìn)行了策動(dòng)，以使非洲國家推行這項(xiàng)卷煙平裝法。

　　在南部非洲發(fā)展共同體（SADC）的15個(gè)成員國中，有6個(gè)國家種植煙草，其中包含贊比亞。而在所有5個(gè)種植煙草的成員國中，煙草是重要的出口創(chuàng)匯作物，對(duì)這些國家的國內(nèi)生產(chǎn)總值有著重要的貢獻(xiàn)，貢獻(xiàn)率達(dá)3%至10%。

Zambia, Zim and Malawi Oppose Stiffer Legislation on Tobacco

　　SOUTHERN African countries have opposed stiffer tobacco legislation to compel them to introduce plain packaging for tobacco products.

　　Francois van der Merwe, chief executive officer of the Tobacco Institute of Southern Africa (TISA), said the countries, including Zambia, are concerned at the growing trend to introduce cigarette packaging regulations that encroach on existing legal trademarks.

　　Ukraine and Honduras are reviving a dispute at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) challenging Australian laws that introduced the so-called "plain packaging" requirements regarding the appearance and packaging of tobacco products.

　　Inclusive of significant trademark restrictions, the legislation requires tobacco products to be sold in standardised, olive-green packs with large graphic health warnings on both sides of the pack.

　　But van der Merwe said, "Any measure that goes beyond what is necessary to educate the public about the dangers of tobacco by limiting trademarks of legal products, runs the risk of achieving many unintended consequences for years to come".

　　"Extreme regulations, such as standardised packs, as in Australia will make it difficult to differentiate between tobacco products and will make counterfeiting easier, leading to a further rise in illicit trade," he said.

　　He explained that illicit trade in tobacco products was already of considerable proportion in the Southern African region, affecting all stakeholders throughout the tobacco value chain.

　　"Any increase in illicit trade due to extreme regulation which is not based on evidence and science, and on which full consultation has not taken place, will have disastrous negative consequences for countries in the region," said van der Merwe.

　　"SADC members Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi have registered their concerns around the impact of extreme tobacco packaging legislation, with all three having notified the WTO of their interest in becoming third parties to the Ukraine dispute on tobacco plain packaging. This is on the basis of the contribution of tobacco to their economies, a point on which they refuse to be mute participants and powerless negotiators in international forums here the outcome impacts their economies."

　　Plain packaging was introduced in Australia in December last year, and there has been manoeuvres by anti-smoking pressure groups to have African countries introduce the law after the big tobacco companies in Australia lost a lawsuit challenging the regulation.

　　Tobacco is grown in six out of 15 member states of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), including Zambia, and in all of the five tobacco growing member states, the crop is a key export earner with a significant contribution of between three to 10 per cent to the GDP of those countries. Enditem