One glimmer of hope in these difficult times, of public health emergency and cascading humanitarian and economic crisis, came from Singapore: plain packaging of all tobacco products came into immediate effect from July 1, thereby joining two more nations in Asia Pacific that have enforced plain packaging earlier: Australia (2012) and Thailand (2019).

The Singapore Ministry of Health says that plain packaging (or standardized packaging) of "tobacco products is part of a multipronged approach aimed, among others, at discouraging non-smokers from picking up smoking, encouraging smokers to quit, and encouraging Singaporeans to adopt a tobacco-free lifestyle, which will ultimately lead to reduced smoking prevalence."

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the global tobacco treaty (WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control), plain packaging means restricting or prohibiting the use of logos, colors, brand images or promotional information on packaging other than brand names and product names displayed in a standard color and font style.

It also implies use of black and white or two other contrasting colors, as prescribed by national authorities; nothing other than a brand name, a product name and/or manufacturer's name, contact details and the quantity of product in the packaging, without any logos or other features apart from health warnings, tax stamps and other government-mandated information or markings; and standardized shape, size and materials. No advertising or promotion inside or attached to the package or on individual cigarettes or other tobacco products is allowed.

It is common knowledge how tobacco industry has used deception, lies and misleading branding, marketing, sponsorship, advertising and promotion (despite ban on advertising) to hook new children and young people into addiction so that its cash registers keep ringing (while millions keep dying from its products every year). Plain packaging transfers much more power to the government to control a deadly product, punctures the deception and lies of industry age-old tactics, and helps save lives and avoid unnecessary human suffering.

Plain packaging serves several purposes, including reducing the attractiveness of tobacco products; eliminating the effects of tobacco packaging as a form of advertising and promotion; addressing package design techniques that may suggest that some products are less harmful than others; and increasing the noticeability and effectiveness of health warnings.

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