DUBLIN – Ireland is set to become the first country in the European Union to ban branding on packs of cigarettes. 

All trademarks, logos, colors and graphics will be removed from tobacco products sold in Ireland under the new plain-packaging rules, according to a proposal that secured backing from the government. Also, the brand name of the product will be presented in a uniform typeface in packs of one plain neutral color, which has yet to specified.

It’s now up to Parliament to approve the law before it can take effect, but the governing coalition enjoys a strong majority, reports Reuters.

The news source adds that the British government is considering a similar plain-packaging rule on cigarettes, but the proposal was omitted from the government's legislative agenda earlier this month.

Tobacco companies such as Philip Morris and British American Tobacco say that plain packaging encourages the global black market trade of tobacco products and the proliferation of counterfeit products.