Forbes: Unbranding Economic Freedom: The WHO And The Case Of Plain Packaging
Lorenzo Montanari, director of international programs and affairs for Americans for Tax Reform and executive director of Property Rights Alliance

“…The [plain packaging] policy [on tobacco products] is a direct attack on economic freedom and should never have gone into practice. … A new international coalition of 62 organizations sent a letter to the WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus to demand the organization to stop infringing on [intellectual property (IP)] rights with plain packaging policies. … It’s time for the WHO to rethink this plain packaging policy. Other countries have been able to reduce smoking prevalence without experimenting with this extreme measure. … Given the extraordinary costs for a policy that consistently returns dismal results, the WHO really has no choice but to repeal plain packaging. Instead it should protect IP rights and provide alternative solutions that actually work to reduce smoking prevalence” (3/22).