LONDON (Reuters) - The government is still considering banning company branding on cigarette packets even though it omitted the plan from its legislative agenda laid out in Parliament on Wednesday, an official spokesman said.
Britain had looked set to become the first European country to force cigarette makers to use plain packaging - a step opposed by the tobacco industry, which sees it as harming their profits.
But the Queen made no reference to the plans in a speech setting out the government's legislative plans for the year ahead, disappointing anti-smoking groups.
A spokesman for Prime Minister David Cameron said no decision had been taken and the government was still considering the right way forward.
The Department of Health held four months of consultations last year to gather evidence on whether standardised tobacco packaging would discourage young smokers and help existing smokers ditch the habit.
"This an important decision and we make no apology for taking time to get it right. We are closely watching what is happening around the world," a department spokesperson said.
Last year, Australia implemented a law saying cigarettes must be sold in olive green packets carrying graphic health warnings.
Cuba, whose luxury cigars are world renowned and feature distinctive packages, launched a challenge against the Australian law at the World Trade Organisation last week.
Campaign groups wrote to Health Minister Jeremy Hunt expressing disappointment over the omission of the plan from the government's programme.
"The failure to bring forward legislation fatally undermines the Government's credibility on public health issues," said the letter from the Smokefree Action Coalition, an alliance of more than 100 health organisations.
Companies such as Philip Morris and British American Tobacco fear that plain packaging would eat into sales of higher margin brands and say it would encourage the global black market in tobacco.
Imperial Tobacco shares have risen marginally since reports circulated in the British media that Cameron had dropped the initiative.
(Additional reporting by Rosalba O'Brien; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
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