According to a report in the Daily Telegraph, Cuba claimed that the law would be "anti-capitalist" and would threaten free trade. The Communist country added that plain packaging would lead to an increase in counterfeit cigarettes, leading to health risks to people smoking black market cigarettes.
Cuba's letter to the WTO's Committee to Technical Barriers on Trade concluded: "Cuba expresses great concern over the UK Parliament's decision to move ahead with the process of implementation of plain packaging of tobacco products, without waiting for a settlement of the complaint against Australia before the WTO Dispute Settlement Body."
Conservative MP Priti Patel has also waded into the debate arguing that the timescale of the legislation was causing anxiety to newsagents and independent retailers. She has written to Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt and claimed that standardised packaging was a "blunt tool" and will have a "significant and disproportionate impact on independent retailers".
Earlier this month, the government announced it would press ahead with legislation for plain tobacco packaging following a review by Sir Cyril Chantler.
Standardised packaging for tobacco products also hit the news on Sunday. The Observer reported that Keith Vaz MP, chairman of the home affairs select committee, held a reception to launch report funded by Philip Morris International warning that plain packs will encourage smuggling. Labour MP Vaz was one of 72 MPs who signed a letter to Hunt saying that plain packaging will increase the illicit trade in cigarettes.
