3.—(1) Except as provided in regulation 4, there shall be clearly and conspicuously printed on every container of smoked tobacco products one of the warnings set out in the First Schedule.
(2) The warning referred to in paragraph (1) —
(a)
shall be printed —
(i)
on the external surface of any spherical container of the tobacco product;
(ii)
on the largest external surface of any cylindrical or conical container of the tobacco product; or
(iii)
on the 2 largest external surfaces of any other kind of container of the tobacco product;
(b)
shall be of an area not less than 50% of the total area of the surface of the container on which the warning is printed;
(c)
shall conform with the specifications set out in the First Schedule;
(d)
shall, in the case of any container (other than a soft pack), be positioned —
(i)
parallel to the top edge of the container, towards the top part of the container as much as possible while satisfying the requirements of sub-paragraph (f); and
(ii)
in the same direction as the other information that is on the container;
(e)
shall, in the case of a soft pack, be positioned —
(i)
parallel to the bottom edge of the soft pack, towards the bottom part of the soft pack as much as possible while satisfying the requirements of sub-paragraph (f); and
(ii)
in the same direction as the other information that is on the soft pack; and
(f)
shall be printed in a manner that ensures that, when the container is opened or closed in the normal way —
(i)
no portion of the warning is obliterated or becomes unreadable; and
(ii)
the warning is not severed or is severed only at the conjunction between Parts I and II of the warning.
(3) Each of the warnings set out in the First Schedule shall be printed in rotation on the containers of each kind of smoked tobacco products so that, during the period of 24 months beginning on 1st August 2004 and every subsequent 24-month period, each warning appears as far as possible on an equal number of containers of each kind of tobacco product.
(4) Where a container referred to in paragraph (1) is made of wood or any kind of flexible plastic material, the warning required to be printed on the container under this regulation —
(a)
may be printed on a mirror-coated adhesive label that is firmly affixed to the container so as not to be easily removable; and
(b)
shall conform with these Regulations in all other respects.