Section 1 (Title)
i. The title of this act shall be, the "Plain Packaging Act."
ii. As it appears in this legislation, "retail packaging" refers to the packaging in which tobacco and vape products are presented to the consumer in a store or other venue.
Section 2 (Requirement for plain packaging)
i. No tobacco or vape products may be sold on the market except those whose retail packaging conforms to the requirements set forth herein.
Section 3 (Shape)
i. All tobacco and vape products must be packaged for sale in a box or carton made of cardboard and only of cardboard, without ridges, embossed images, or any other variation of shape or texture.
ii. Any glue or adhesive used in manufacturing must be transparent and colorless.
iii. When the box or carton is closed, each outer surface must be rectangular, and the surfaces of the packaging must meet at 90˚ angles. All edges must be straight and not rounded, bevelled, or otherwise embellished in any way.
iv. The packaging must open with a flip-top lid hinged only at the back and with straight edges. Neither the lid nor the edges of the lid may be rounded, bevelled, or otherwise embellished in any way.
Section 4 (Finish)
i. All outer and inner surfaces of the retail packaging of tobacco and vape products, as well as any lining of a box or carton, must have a matte finish and be brown in color.
(a) As it appears in this section, "brown" refers to pantone #448c.
Section 5 (Wrapper)
i. Any plastic or other wrapper must be transparent and colorless and carry no text or identifying mark.
ii. The wrapper must nor be textured or embellished in any way.
Section 6 (Text and logos)
i. No trade mark may appear anywhere on the retail packaging of tobacco and vape products.
ii. No other text or mark may appear anywhere on the retail packaging of tobacco and vape products, except as expressly provided herein.
iii. All text must be printed in white twelve-point Avenir font, except as expressly provided herein.
Section 7 (Labels)
i. The name of the product and manufacturer may appear only once on the retail packaging of tobacco products.
ii. The label must appear in the following formulation, and include no other text or other promotional symbols, messages, or marks: the type of product, and directly beneath this the manufacturer. The label must be centered in the bottom third of the side of the packaging on which it appears.
iii. Directly above the label, the packaging must display a full-color, high-resolution photograph sized to fit the perimeter of the packaging, along with a message in bolded twenty-point font. It must either display:
(a) a photograph of a diseased human lung, with the caption above, "SMOKING CAUSES LUNG CANCER"; or
(b) a photograph of rotted and discolored teeth, with the caption above, "SMOKING CAUSES MOUTH AND THROAT CANCER"; or
(c) a photograph of a child attached to a respirator, with the caption above, "DON'T LET YOUR CHILDREN BREATH SMOKE"; or
(d) some other combination of image and message mandated by the Ministry of Health and Human Services.
(e) Appropriate photographs will be selected by the Ministry of Health and Human Services.
iv. The reverse side of the packaging must carry another of the above images with the corresponding message.
v. All other sides of the packaging must display a warning provided by the Ministry of Health and Human Services; this warning must be printed in bolded black twelve-point letters on an amber #ffbf00 background.
Section 8 (Scent and noise)
i. When opened, the retail packaging of tobacco and vape products must be rigged to emit a harmless sulphuric odor and to play a recording of a shrill scream or siren lasting at least 60 seconds.
ii. No part of the retail packaging of tobacco and vape products may make any other noise, or contain or produce a scent, that could be taken to constitute tobacco advertising and promotion.
Section 9 (Effect)
i. This act shall apply to all tobacco and vape products packaged on or after October 1, 2021.
