Tobacco giant loses display battle

Dec 12 2012

One of the world's biggest tobacco firms has lost a Supreme Court fight against a planned cigarette display ban.

The UK's highest court dismissed an appeal by Imperial Tobacco against the Scottish Government's attempts to ban the open display of cigarettes in shops.

At a hearing in London, lawyers representing Imperial, which is based in Bristol, asked a panel of five Supreme Court justices to analyse the issues after twice failing to persuade Scottish judges to set aside legislative provisions.

Ministers say display bans are needed to protect future generations from the "devastating effects" of smoking.

Imperial argues there is no credible evidence that display bans have cut tobacco consumption.