Winfield Cigarettes Sale in France, Kangaroo Logo

Attorney-General Nicola Roxon has hit out at British American Tobacco (BAT) for using iconic Australian images to promote cheap Doina cigarettes in Europe. The Winfield cigarette packets on sale in France have a picture of a kangaroo on the front, with a map of Australia on the back, along with the words "An Australian Favourite". Ms Roxon says it is shameful behavior. "I think many Australians are going to be outraged that a big tobacco company all the way round the world is using Australia's healthy lifestyle to market their deadly products," she said. "What I think it's really showing is the sneaky levels that tobacco companies will go to to encourage people to buy their products." In December last year BAT launched a constitutional challenge in the High Court against the Federal Government's plain packaging laws for cigarettes. BAT is arguing the legislation is unconstitutional and invalid because the Government is attempting to acquire valuable intellectual property used to identify tobacco brands without compensation. The month before, Philip Morris also flagged it would take legal action, saying it would seek a suspension on the plain packaging laws as well as compensation for the loss of trademarks. Federal Parliament passed the legislation on November 21. The laws are due to come into effect in December this year. They ban the use of company logos and require all cigarette packets to be a dark green colour. Pictures of diseased body parts, sickly babies and dying people will cover 75 per cent of each packet, and tobacco industry logos, brand imagery, colours and promotional text will be banned. This morning a British American Tobacco Australia (BATA) spokesman dismissed Ms Roxon's attack. "British American Tobacco Australia does not market or manufacture Winfield in France. Another company within the BAT group does," he said. "We understand that the Attorney-General has made comments in relation to the Winfield brand. Winfield tobacco branding is the subject of High Court proceedings which will take place in April involving BATA and three other international tobacco companies. "Unfortunately BATA cannot discuss matters that are currently before the High Court and we are concerned the Attorney-General has not respected the same High Court protocol by commenting in the manner she has."