Coalición Canaria urges Plenary of the Spanish Congress to prevent generic tobacco packaging rollout; party claims measure would negatively impact 4,000 jobs in Canary Islands' packaging sector

April 7, 2025 (CE Noticias Financieras (Latin America)) –

Coalición Canaria will defend this week in the Plenary of the Congress an initiative to request that the introduction of the generic packaging of tobacco packets be prevented due to the negative impact that the measure would have on the sector, especially present in the archipelago.

Specifically, the party led in the Lower House by Cristina Valido will defend a motion as a result of an urgent interpellation to the Minister of Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu .

In this interpellation, Valido stated that making all packs the same regardless of the brand that sells them has proved "ineffective" in the countries in which it has been implemented and has even served to increase smuggling and has lowered the price of the pack. The deputy added that the measure is especially detrimental to the graphic arts, packaging and paper companies, a sector which generates more than 4,000 jobs in the Canary Islands .

The head of Industry replied to Valido that many of the arguments he used are the sector's own, and argued that the causes of the decrease in consumption or the increase in smuggling are several and are not only linked to the design of the packages. However, Hereu pledged to take into account the opinion of the tobacco sector when implementing plain packaging.

THAT THE MEASURE BE ELIMINATED

However, the insular formation has proposed in its motion a specific point to request the elimination of the introduction of the generic packaging. Apart from that point, it has also asked to analyze the effectiveness of the generic packaging based on the experience of other countries where the measure has already been implemented and to evaluate its impact on the industrial and economic fabric of the Canary Islands .

If the ineffectiveness of the measure and the negative impact on the industry of the archipelago are demonstrated, Coalición Canaria urges the Government to reach a consensus with the Canary Islands on any proposal related to the packaging of tobacco products.