Cigarette Logo Ban 澳大利亚取缔香烟商标

By Nick Bryant, BBC News

The Australian government wants to put people off smoking

媒体英语会带大家一起学习 BBC 撰稿人在报道世界大事时常用到的单词和短语。

背景：澳大利亚宣布了一项自称为全球最严厉的反吸烟措施，取缔所有香烟牌子的标识。今后的香烟包装将一律使用吸烟者最不喜欢的颜色：橄榄绿。

The colour olive green is the latest weapon in the ongoing battle between the Australian government and big tobacco. Under aggressive new proposals, billed as the toughest in the world, every packet of cigarettes sold in Australia would be packaged in that colour after research showed that olive green was the most off-putting for smokers.

Logos and any form of distinct branding would be completely banned. Instead, the brand names would appear in a standard size and font, making them as bland and anonymous as possible. A greater area of the packaging would also be taken up with grotesque pictures of cancerous tumours and the health effects of tobacco.

Claiming a global first, the Australian government says it wants to remove any remaining glamour from cigarettes, but the big tobacco companies have questioned the legality of the legislation.

Worried about the possible worldwide knock-on effects of Australia introducing such stringent regulations, they've vowed to put up a fight - saying the new measures infringe international trademark and intellectual property laws.