LONDON—A legal challenge by the tobacco industry against plain packaging in the U.K. has failed, opening the door for cigarette packs to be stripped of branding across the country and setting a precedent for other countries in Europe.

Starting Friday, any cigarettes produced for sale in the U.K. will have to follow plain-packaging rules under which cigarettes will be sold in uniform packs stripped of distinctive logos and colors, and adorned with graphic health warnings.

The U.K. parliament in March voted to ban branding on cigarette packs starting in May 2016. In response, the tobacco industry mounted a legal challenge, with British American Tobacco PLC, Imperial Brands PLC, Japan Tobacco International and Philip Morris International Inc. filing suits with the High Court in London last summer alleging that plain packaging violates U.K. and European law.

Write to Saabira Chaudhuri at saabira.chaudhuri@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 19, 2016 08:25 ET (12:25 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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