--- title: British Parliament Votes to Ban Cigarettes With Branding description: The government wants to reduce cigarette sales canonical: https://time.com/3740735/british-parliament-ban-cigarettes-branding/ author: Sam Frizell article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-11T16:43:54.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:05:19.478Z article:section: Health og:title: British Parliament Votes to Ban Cigarettes With Branding og:description: The government wants to reduce cigarette sales og:url: https://time.com/3740735/british-parliament-ban-cigarettes-branding/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd3b231d9d0689b9a/6987833006f2c14d35334618/uk-cigarettes-branding-ban.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Plain Cigarette Packaging Law To Be Voted On Before The Election og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: British Parliament Votes to Ban Cigarettes With Branding twitter:description: The government wants to reduce cigarette sales twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd3b231d9d0689b9a/6987833006f2c14d35334618/uk-cigarettes-branding-ban.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # British Parliament Votes to Ban Cigarettes With Branding ## Video: Watch: The Rise of E-Cigarettes [Watch (HLS stream): Watch: The Rise of E-Cigarettes](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/bo5A95r5.m3u8) (2:02)  _Published 2013-12-27. A look at the rise of the e-cigarette market and why it's so divisive for many._ by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Mar 11, 2015 4:43 PM UTC  Cigarettes are sold on Jan. 22, 2015 in London, England. Cigarettes are sold on Jan. 22, 2015 in London, England.Dan Kitwood—Getty Images by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Mar 11, 2015 4:43 PM UTC Cigarette manufacturers in the United Kingdom may be barred from putting their logos on packets by 2016, after an overwhelming majority of Parliament voted Wednesday for the new measure. Under the proposed law, cigarettes sold in Britain would no longer bear logos, trademarks or graphics. Instead, they would be sold in plain, standardized packets listing brand names and health warnings. The measure was opposed by tobacco companies, but the government says it will improve public health and reduce the number of child smokers, [Reuters](http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/03/11/uk-britain-cigarettes-packaging-idUKKBN0M70OY20150311) reports. The measure was approved by 367 votes to 113 in the lower house of Parliament. The upper house must still debate and vote on the law. \[[_Reuters_](http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/03/11/uk-britain-cigarettes-packaging-idUKKBN0M70OY20150311)\] _Read next:_ [_These Are the States Smoking the Most Smuggled Cigarettes_](http://time.com/3735369/smuggled-cigarettes/?iid=time%5Freadnext) [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article) British Parliament Votes to Ban Cigarettes With Branding ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3740735/british-parliament-ban-cigarettes-branding/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3740735/british-parliament-ban-cigarettes-branding/"},"headline":"British Parliament Votes to Ban Cigarettes With Branding","datePublished":"2015-03-11T16:43:54.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:05:19.478Z","description":"The government wants to reduce cigarette sales","url":"https://time.com/3740735/british-parliament-ban-cigarettes-branding/","keywords":["Addiction"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd3b231d9d0689b9a/6987833006f2c14d35334618/uk-cigarettes-branding-ban.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sam Frizell","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd3b231d9d0689b9a/6987833006f2c14d35334618/uk-cigarettes-branding-ban.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Plain Cigarette Packaging Law To Be Voted On Before The Election","caption":"Plain Cigarette Packaging Law To Be Voted On Before The Election","creditText":"Dan Kitwood—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/addiction/","name":"Addiction"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3740735/british-parliament-ban-cigarettes-branding/","name":"British Parliament Votes to Ban Cigarettes With Branding"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Watch: The Rise of E-Cigarettes","description":"A look at the rise of the e-cigarette market and why it's so divisive for many.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/bo5A95r5/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2013-12-27T16:26:24.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/bo5A95r5.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3740735/british-parliament-ban-cigarettes-branding/","duration":"PT2M2S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3740735/british-parliament-ban-cigarettes-branding/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```