This is what lawyer Ketil Bøe Moen at the Norwegian government agency, the Government Attorney, tells Tobacco Facts.

He is the government's legal representative in the process between Philip Morris' Norwegian subsidiary and the Norwegian state, the main hearing of which began on June 4 in Oslo District Court and concluded on June 13.

In March 2010, Philip Morris Norway sued the Norwegian state over the display ban on tobacco products that was introduced from January of that year. The tobacco company justified its lawsuit by saying that the ban violates the rules of the European Economic Area (EEA), which includes both the EU and the remaining EFTA countries, of which Norway is one. This means that the EU's rules on the free movement of goods and competition policy also apply in Norway. However, there are also rules for the protection of public health within the EEA that can be applied to tobacco.

The tobacco company claimed that the exposure bans in Norway and other countries have not reduced underage smoking and therefore have no effect on public health.

Lawyer Moen says that experts from the UK and the US testified in the district court about clear reductions in underage smoking after the exposure ban. In Norway, such positive effects have also been found in studies in both 2011 and 2012.

Other countries, which did not testify on site, contributed reports on what has happened since exposure bans were introduced, including Canada, where all provinces and territories have had bans in place at different times and where an increasing decrease in teenage smoking has been documented the longer the bans have existed.

The arguments for an exposure ban have been significantly strengthened, says Ketil Bøe Moen, who, as the government's lawyer, still does not want to comment on what the outcome of the process may be.

The verdict, which determines whether the exposure ban violates laws and agreements or will continue, will be handed down during August, but before the 31st.