GB2453781A

GB2453781A - Smoking article package with re-closable strip

Info

Publication number: GB2453781A
Application number: GB0720472A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Alan Douglas Tearle; Royce Raju
Original assignee: British American Tobacco Co Ltd
Current assignee: British American Tobacco Investments Ltd
Priority date: 2007-10-19
Filing date: 2007-10-19
Publication date: 2009-04-22
Also published as: GB0720472D0

Abstract

The package, typically a cigarette package comprises an inner wrapper 18 and an outer warp 20. Attached on the outer wrap is member 22 for re-closing an access opening 21 formed in use in the package for providing access to the smoking products. The member 22 comprises at least three superposed panels, namely a base panel 22a, an intermediate panel 22b and a distal panel 22c. The base panel 22a is permanently attached to one side wall and the other two can be unfolded in order to extend over and cover the opening. The distal panel is generally provided with tacky adhesive so as to retain the member in the closed position. An alternative embodiment comprises a further intermediate panel (122c, Fig.2b) so that the distal panel (122d, Fig.2d) can be detachably adhered to the side instead of to the top wall. The member for re-closing 22 may be provided with indicia thereon, e.g. Advertisement.

Description

I

Packaging for Smoking Articles The invention relates to the packaging of smoking articles and smokable products such as cigarettes, cigars and cigarillos, loose tobacco, or so-called, roll-your-own tobacco and of smokeless tobacco products such as oral tobacco products. For convenience and brevity these will be referred to herein as smoking articles.

As will be readily understood in the art, smoking article packages fall into two broad classes, rigid and soft. Soft packs are more common in certain markets and as the name implies these packs are formed essentially of soft sheet materials. Rigid packs have an outer shell, commonly of card material and typically having a hinged-lid, to contain a charge of smoking articles wrapped in a foil wrapper. Semi-rigid packs on the other hand have an outer wrapper of soft sheet material and an inner frame providing rigidity to the pack. In the context of the present invention, the term "smoking article package" will be understood to encompass soft, semi-rigid and rigid smoking article packs which readily retain their shape, and to exclude pliable packaging such as bags or pouches.

In order that information regarding the product is conveyed to the consumer it is advantageous if the surface area available to carry such information on the packaging is increased. A known method of providing additional space for such information is to attach folded coupons or labels (also known as onserts) to smoking article packs that are manually released by the consumer to reveal their information content. However, the use of such onserts relies on the consumer making a conscious decision to manipulate them to reveal their information content. A regular consumer of smoking articles may not perform such a task every time a new pack is opened and thus fail to obtain the information.

The present invention therefore has as one of its aims the provision of a smoking article pack that encourages the consumer to manipulate an onsert and, in doing so, reveal its information content.

Many smoking article packages, and in particular packages of the soft-cup and semi-rigid types, are accessed by removing a portion of the wrapping material surrounding the charge of smoking articles. The portion of wrapping material is typically entirely removed from the pack and discarded. Accordingly, after first opening of the package there will be formed a permanent aperture through which the remaining smoking articles may accidentally escape the package, for example whilst being carried by the consumer. Furthermore, the aperture is liable to result in the ingress and egress of moisture and the ingress of possible contaminants into the package.

A further object of the present invention is therefore to provide a pack for smoking articles which provides a means of retaining the contained smoking articles whilst being simple in its construction.

According to the present invention there is provided a smoking article package comprising a wrapper for containing a charge of smoking articles; and having a base wall and at least one further wall upstanding substantially perpendicularly from the base wall, and a portion of the wrapper being openable to provide an access aperture in the wrapper; the package further comprising a closure member deployable from a first position to a second position to thereby cover the access aperture.

The package may be of substantially circular or polygonal cross-section.

Most preferably, the package is substantially parallelepiped, and may be of substantially rectangular cross-section, for example. The pack may be of any suitable shape and may be triangular for example.

Preferably, the package comprises at least three further walls upstanding from the base wall, wherein adjacent upstanding walls share a common longitudinal margin.

For example, the package may be of substantially triangular cross-section.

In this arrangement, it will be understood that the package will comprise a substantially triangular base wall with three further walls upstanding from the edges of the base wall and a substantially triangular top wall, substantially parallel with the base wall and at an opposite end of the package thereto.

Preferably, the package is formed by front and rear major walls, opposing side walls, a base wall and a top wall. In this arrangement, the front, rear and side walls comprise the further walls upstanding from the base wall.

Preferably, at least a portion of the closure member is permanently attachable to a wall of the pack. More specifically, at least a portion of the closure member may be permanently attachable to a rear or a front major wall of the pack. Alternatively, at least a portion of the closure member may be permanently attachable to a side wall.

Preferably, at least a portion of the closure member is releasably retainable against a wall of the pack when in the second position. The portion of the closure member permanently attachable to the pack and the portion of the closure member releasably retainable against the pack may be located against the same wall when the closure member is in the second position. Alternatively, the portions may be located against different walls of the pack when the closure member is in the second position.

Advantageously, the retaining of the closure member in its second position over the access aperture prevents smoking articles inadvertently escaping from the pack once it is opened by the consumer. Preferably the closure member is deployable to completely cover the access aperture when the member is in the second position.

Preferably, the closure member is folded when in the first position and at least partially unfolded when in the second position.

More specifically, the closure member may comprise at least two discrete panels. When the closure member is in the first position, the panels are at least partially superposed and in the second position at least a part of one panel is not superposed against a further panel of the closure member.

The closure member may comprise three or more discrete panels.

Preferably, adjacent panels of the closure member are separated by a fold line. In embodiments of the present invention wherein the closure member comprises at least three discrete panels, the respective fold lines are preferably mutually parallel.

Preferably, a panel of the closure member is permanently attachable to a wall of the pack.

More specifically, the panel is permanently attachable to a wall of the pack over its entire length in the direction of unfolding. Alternatively, permanent attachment of a portion of the panel may be provided. The panel may be permanently attachable to the wall by adhesive, for example.

Preferably, at least two of the respective panels are superposed when the closure member is in the first position. More preferably, all of the panels are superposed in the first position of the closure member.

Preferably, a permanently tacky adhesive is provided on at least one panel for retaining the closure member over the access aperture of the pack.

Preferably, the closure member comprises at least three panels including a base panel which is permanently attachable to a wall of the pack, a distal panel and at least one intermediate panel between the base and distal panels.

Preferably, the intermediate and distal panels are substantially equal in length, and are longer than the base panel. In arrangements wherein the closure member comprises a plurality of intermediate panels, it is much by preference that each of the intermediate panels has a length dimension substantially equal to that of the distal panel.

Preferably, the three panels are superposed such that the distal panel is interposed between the base and intermediate panels when the closure member is in its first position, Preferably, a permanently tacky adhesive is provided on the outwardly facing surface of the base panel to releasably retain the distal panel in the first position between the base and intermediate panels.

Preferably, a permanently tacky adhesive is provided on a portion of the distal panel to releasably retain it in the second position over the access aperture of the pack.

Preferably, a fold line is formed between the intermediate and distal panels and is positionable over an edge of the top wall of the pack when the closure member is in its first and/or second position.

Preferably, the intermediate and distal panels lie against a side wall and a top wall of the pack respectively when the closure member is in its second position.

Alternatively, the intermediate and distal panels lie against a front or rear major wall and a top wall of the pack respectively when the closure member is in its second position.

In an alternative arrangement of the present invention, the closure member comprises four panels including a base panel, a distal panel and two intermediate panels joining the base and distal panels.

Preferably, the length of the intermediate panel adjacent the distal panel is substantially equal to the width of the top wall of the pack.

Preferably, the four panels are superposed such that the distal panel and its adjacent intermediate panel are interposed between the base panel and the other intermediate panel when the closure member is in its first position.

Preferably, a permanently tacky adhesive is provided on the outwardly facing surface of the base panel to releasably retain the distal panel and its adjacent intermediate panel in the first position between the base panel and the other intermediate panel.

Preferably, a permanently tacky adhesive is provided on a portion of the distal panel and/or its adjacent intermediate panel to releasably retain said intermediate panel in the second position over the access aperture of the pack.

Preferably, fold lines between the respective intermediate panels and between the distal panel and its adjacent intermediate panel are positionable over opposing edges of the top wall of the pack when the closure member is in its second position.

The pre-formed fold lines are advantageous for the consumer because it is readily apparent where each panel is intended to be position when the closure member is moved to its second position. Moreover, such an arrangement ensures that the pack has a neat appearance whilst in its second position.

Preferably, one intermediate panel and the distal panel lie against opposing side walls of the pack and the other intermediate panel extends over the entire top wall of the pack when the closure member is in its second position.

Alternatively, one intermediate panel and the distal panel lie against opposing front and rear walls of the pack and the other intermediate panel extends over the top wall of the pack when the closure member is in its second position.

The panels of the closure member may be rectangular in shape.

Alternative shapes are envisaged and will be apparent to the skilled

artisan in light of the present disclosure.

Preferably, the closure member comprises at least one fold line to define a user-operable tab.

Advantageously, the tab provides a surface that the user can grasp to deploy the closure member to the second position.

Preferably, the closure member may be printed with indicia and/or graphics or the like.

Advantageously, any printed information provided on the deployed closure member is exposed and readily viewable by the consumer.

Preferably the wrapper comprises a barrier material. Suitable barrier materials will be known to the skilled artisan and may include a plastics/metal laminate or a metallised plastics material, both of which have superior barrier properties. Alternatively, the wrapper may be a composite of thin paper and metal foil, which immediately surrounds the smoking articles but which being merely folded around them is not a sealed enclosure. In this alternative arrangement the wrapper will commonly be wrapped in an outer wrapper comprising a barrier material and/or an external wrap of transparent plastics material, which can be removed by use of a tear strip when the consumer wishes to gain access to the pack.

Preferably, the wrapper is provided by a single ply of material.

Alternatively, the wrapper is provided by a multi-ply material, such as a laminated material for example.

Alternatively, the wrapper is provided by a multi-wrapper comprised of multiple layers of material.

The smoking article package may be a rigid pack or, alternatively, may be a soft or a semi-rigid pack Although the present invention is particularly suited to packs of the so-called "soft" type, a smoking article package of the present invention may further comprise an outer body portion. For example, a smoking article package according to the invention having a substantially rectangular cross-section may further comprise an outer body portion comprising a front wall, a top wall, a rear wall, a bottom wall and at least two side walls.

The outer body may provide a so-called hinge-lid pack as is well know in the art of smoking article packaging.

Preferably the walls of the outer body are configured to provide a parallelepiped pack. Most preferably the walls are each rectangular in shape. The front and rear walls suitably have a height dimension greater than the width dimension thereof.

The terms front wall, top wall, rear wall and bottom wall do not imply any particular orientation of the pack and can equally well be replaced by the terms first wall, second wall, third wall and fourth wall respectively, where each occurs.

it is much by preference that the front and rear walls of the wrapper around the charge of smoking articles lie adjacent the front and rear walls respectively of the outer body of the smoking article pack.

The smoking article package may have an inner slide and an outer shell (hereinafter referred to as slide-shell packs).

Slide-shell packs for smoking articles differ from conventional hinged lid packs in that the smoking articles are provided in an inner shell which the user slidably moves relative to an outer shell to access the smoking articles.

The smoking article package, the wrapper and/or the outer body portion of the smoking article packages described herein are generally rectangular with four faces upstanding from a rectangular base. In the examples given, the edges are formed by faces at right angles. That is not essential to the invention; the smoking article package, the wrapper and/or the outer body portion may have edges at least between the side walls and the front and rear walls which are rounded, bevelled or elliptical, or other edge shapes including those known in the art.

The cross-sectional shape of the base of the pack containing for example cigarettes may be a shape other than a rectangle, for example other quadrilateral shapes such as a square.

Alternatively, it will be understood that the smoking article packages herein described may be used to surround a charge of loose tobacco, referred to in the art for example as roll-your-own or make-your-own tobacco.

The smoking article package may further comprise an inner frame. The inner frame may be disposed within the wrapper or, alternatively, may be disposed around the wrapper.

The present invention is not limited to single bundles of cigarettes. For example, multiple bundles may be enclosed in the wrapper and then inserted together into a single outer shell. Alternatively, multiple bundles, each within an inner frame, may be overwrapped together in a single pack-forming sheet, to form a semi-rigid pack containing multiple bundles.

in order that the present invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example only, to the accompanying drawings in which:-Fig. la is a perspective view of a smoking article package according to the present invention having a closure member in an initial folded position; Fig. lb is a perspective view of a smoking article package according to the present invention having a closure member in a partially unfolded position; Fig. ic is a perspective view of a smoking article package according to the present invention having a closure member in an unfolded position covering an access aperture; Fig. 2a is a perspective view of an alternative smoking article package according to the present invention having a closure member in an initial folded position; Fig. 2b is a perspective view of an alternative smoking article package having a closure member in a partially unfolded position; and Fig. 2c is a perspective view of an alternative smoking article package having a closure member in an unfolded position covering an access aperture.

Fig. 2d is a rear view of the smoking article pack of Fig. 2c.

Figs. la-c depict a smoking article pack (10) having front and rear major walls (12), opposing side walls (14), a base wall (15) and a top wall (16).

The adjoining edges of the respective walls (12, 14) are shown as being rounded. It will be well understood that the edges of the respective walls (12, 14) may be square, bevelled or elliptical, for example. The pack (10) is of the multi-ply type having an inner wrapper (18) for containing a charge of smoking articles, and an outer wrap (20). The outer wrap (20) extends over the front and rear major walls (12), opposing side walls (14) and the base wall of the wrapper (18), but does not extend over the top wall (16). A label (19), such as a tax stamp, extends substantially centrally over the wrapper (18) on the top wall (16) and is attached to upper portions of the front and rear major walls (12). The wrapper (18) may suitably be, for example, a metal foil, a plastics laminate or a metallised plastics film whereas the outer wrap (20) may be, for example, formed from a paper or cardboard material. The package thus resembles in appearance a soft-cup smoking article package which is substantially parallelepiped in shape.

At first opening of the pack (10), a consumer accesses smoking articles by forming an access aperture (21) in the wrapper (18) in the top wall (16) at one side of the label (19). Those smoking articles which remain in the pack (10) after the wrapper (18)is penetrated are therefore exposed to ambient conditions which, over time, will be detrimental in terms of their freshness, particularly in high temperature or high humidity environments.

This undesired effect can be mitigated by means of the closure member (22) described below.

A closure member (22) in the form of a foldable onsert is provided on an upper portion of the outer wrap (20) on a side wall (14) of the pack (10).

When in its folded position (shown in Fig. Ia), the closure member (22) is positioned on the side wall (14) of the pack (10) such that its uppermost lateral edge extends beyond the upper edge of the outer wrap (20) and substantially coincides with the adjoining edge of the side and top walls (14, 16).

As is most clearly shown in Fig. 1b, the closure member (22) is formed from three discrete rectangular panels (22a, 22b, 22c) each being separated by two lateral, parallel fold lines. The base panel (22a) is permanently adhered to the outer wrap (20) such that its uppermost lateral edge substantially coincides with the upper edge of the outer wrap (20).

The base panel (22a) is permanently adhered to the outer wrap (20) over its entire surface area.

The base panel (22a) is separated from the intermediate panel (22b) at its lower end by a lateral fold line. The intermediate panel (22b) is separated from the distal panel (22c) by a further lateral fold line. The intermediate and distal panels (22b, 22c) are substantially equal in length and are longer than the base panel (22a).

When the closure member (22) is in its initial folded position (shown in Fig. la), the respective base, intermediate and distal panels (22a, 22b, 22c) are superposed such that the distal panel (22c) is interposed between the base panel (22a) and the intermediate panel (22b). A permanently tacky adhesive may be provided on the outwardly facing surface of the base panel (22a) to releasably retain the distal panel (22c) in its folded position between the respective base and intermediate panels (22a, 22b).

A further fold (not shown) may be provided proximate the fold between the intermediate and distal panels (22b, 22c) to define a tab. The tab enables the consumer to grasp the panels (22b, 22c), overcome the adhesive force between the base and distal panels (22a, 22c) and pivot the intermediate and distal panels (22b, 22c) away from the base panel (22a) as indicated in Fig. lb. In order to cover the access aperture (21) formed in the wrapper (18), the consumer unfolds the distal panel (22c) to the extent that its angular displacement relative to the intermediate panel (22b) is at least 90 degrees. The distal panel (22c) is then moved to a position (shown in Fig. Ic) in which it covers the access aperture (21) and extends at least as far as the label (19). It is readily apparent to the consumer when the distal panel (22c) is in its intended position because the fold line between the intermediate and distal panels (22b, 22c) is positionable over, and coincides with, the adjoining edge of the side and top walls (14, 16) and the intermediate panel (22b) lies flat against the base panel (22a). A permanently tacky adhesive is provided on that portion of the distal panel (22c) which overlies the label (19) to enable the closure member (22)to be retained in position over the access aperture (21) of the pack (10).

During unfolding of the closure member (22), those surfaces of the closure member (22) which were previously hidden in its initial folded position are exposed to the consumer and may reveal printed information in the form of indicia and/or graphics.

Figs. 2a-d show an alternative smoking article pack (110). The pack (110) is essentially identical to that of the first example illustrated in Figs. la-c with the exception of the closure member (122).

Closure member (122) is in the form of a foldable onsert and is provided on an upper portion of the outer wrap (120) on a major wall (112) of the pack (110). When in its folded position (shown in Fig. 2a), the closure member (122) is positioned on the major wall (114) of the pack (110) such that its uppermost lateral edge extends beyond the upper edge of the outer wrap (120) and substantially coincides with the adjoining edge of the major and top walls (112, 116).

In the example shown in Fig. 2b, the closure member (122) is formed from four discrete rectangular panels (122a, 122b, 122c, 122d) separated by three lateral, parallel fold lines. The base panel (122a) is permanently adhered to the outer wrap (120) such that its uppermost lateral edge substantially coincides with the upper edge of the outer wrap (120). The base panel (122a) is permanently adhered to the outer wrap (120) over its entire surface area.

As is best shown in Fig. 2b, the base panel (122a) is separated from its adjacent intermediate panel (122b) at its lower end by a lateral fold line.

The intermediate panel (122b) is separated from a further intermediate panel (122c) by a further lateral fold line. The further intermediate panel (122c) is separated from the distal panel (122d) by a yet further lateral fold line. The intermediate panel (1 22b) is longer than the base panel (1 22a) and the length of the intermediate panel (122c) adjacent the distal panel (122d) is substantially equal to the width of the top wall (116) of the pack (110).

When the closure member (122) is in its initial folded position (shown in Fig. 2a), the respective base, two intermediate and distal panels (122a, 122b, 122c, 122d) are superposed such that the distal panel (122d) and its adjacent intermediate panel (122c) are interposed between the base panel (122a) and the other intermediate panel (122b).

A permanently tacky adhesive may be provided on the outwardly facing surface of the base panel (122a) to releasably retain the distal panel (122d) and its adjacent intermediate panel (122c) in the first position between the base panel (122a) and the other intermediate panel (122b).

A further fold (not shown) may be provided proximate the fold between the respective intermediate panels (122b, 122c) to define a tab. The tab enables the consumer to grasp the panels (122b, 122c), overcome the adhesive force between the base and intermediate panels (122a, 122c) and pivot both intermediate and distal panels (122b, 122c, 122d) away from the base panel (122a) as indicated in Fig. 2b.

In order to cover the access aperture (121) formed in the wrapper (118), the consumer unfolds the respective intermediate and distal panels (122c, 122d) to the extent that their angular displacement relative to their adjacent panels are at least 90 degrees. The respective intermediate and distal panels (122c, 122d) are then moved to a position (shown in Fig. 2c and 2d) in which the intermediate panel (122c) covers the access aperture (121). It is readily apparent to the consumer when the intermediate panel (122c) is in its intended, unfolded position because the fold lines between the respective intermediate panels (122b, 122c) and between the distal panel (122d) and its adjacent intermediate panel (122c) are positionable over, and coincide with, the opposing adjoining edges of the major and top walls (112, 116). Moreover, the intermediate panel (122b) and the distal panel (122d) lie flat against the opposing front and rear walls (112) of the pack (110) and the other intermediate panel (122c) extends over the entire top wall (116) of the pack (110) when the closure member (122) is in its second position.

A permanently tacky adhesive is provided on the distal panel (122d) to enable the closure member (122) to be retained in position over the access aperture (121) of the pack (110).

During unfolding of the closure member (122), those surfaces of the closure member (122) which were previously hidden in its initial folded position are exposed to the consumer and may reveal printed information in the form of indicia and/or graphics.

It will be appreciated that the closure members (22, 122) described above assist in maintaining the original freshness and quality of smoking articles after opening of the pack (10, 110). In doing so, extra space is available for indicia and/or graphics which is readily viewable by the consumer.

Moreover, since the closure members (22, 122) are independent of the outer wrap (20, 120), the blanks from which the outer wraps are formed remain simple in construction.

Modifications and improvement may be made to the foregoing without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, in the examples illustrated by Figs. la-c, the distal panel (22c) may extend the full length of the top wall (16) of the pack (10). Such an arrangement would facilitate the covering of the access aperture (21) even if it is formed at the end opposite that of the closure member (22). Similarly, instead of being permanently attached to the side wall (14) of the pack (10), the base panel (22a) may be permanently attached to the front or rear major wall (12). Such an arrangement would facilitate the covering of the access aperture (21) irrespective of where it is formed provided that the distal panel (22c) is at least as wide as the pack (10) itself. In the examples illustrated by Figs. 2a-d, the width of the panels (122a, 122b, 122c, 122d) may be increased in order to facilitate the covering of the access aperture (121) irrespective of where it is formed in the wrapper.

Whilst the onserts (22, 122) are provided with three or four panels separated by parallel, lateral fold lines (i.e. Z-folds), they could equally be provided with more than four panels having combinations of horizontal and vertical folds (e.g. map folds etc.).

Claims

1. A smoking article package comprising a wrapper for containing a charge of smoking articles; and having a base wall and at least one further wall upstanding substantially perpendicularly from the base wall, and a portion of the wrapper being openable to provide an access aperture in the wrapper; the package further comprising a closure member deployable from a first position to a second position to thereby cover the access aperture.

2. A smoking article package according to claim 1, wherein the package is of substantially polygonal cross-section.

3. A smoking article package according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the package is substantially parallelepiped.

4. A smoking article package according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the package comprises at least three further walls upstanding from the base wall, wherein adjacent further walls share a common longitudinal margin.

5. A smoking article package according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein the package is formed by front and rear major walls, opposing side walls, a base wall and a top wall.

6. A smoking article package according to any one of claims 1-5, wherein at least a portion of the closure member is permanently attachable toawall of the pack.

7. A smoking article package according to any one of claims 1-6, wherein at least a portion of the closure member is releasably retainable against a wall of the pack when in the second position.

8. A smoking article package according to any preceding claim, wherein the closure member is folded when in the first position and at least partially unfolded when in the second position.

9. A smoking article package according to any preceding claim, wherein the closure member comprises at least two discrete panels.

10. A smoking article package according to claim 9, wherein the closure member comprises three or more discrete panels.

11. A smoking article package as claimed in claim 9 or 10, wherein adjacent panels are separated by a fold tine.

12. A smoking article package according to claim 10, wherein adjacent panels are separated by a fold line and the respective fold lines are mutually parallel.

13. A smoking article package according to any of claims 9 to 12, wherein a panel is permanently attachable to a wall of the pack.

14. A smoking article package according to claim 13, wherein the panel is permanently attachable to a wall of the pack over its entire length in the direction of unfolding.

15. A smoking article package according to any of claims 9 to 14, wherein at least two of the respective panels are superposed when the closure member is in the first position.

16. A smoking article package according to any of claims 9 to 15, wherein a permanently tacky adhesive is provided on at least one panel for retaining the closure member over the access aperture of the pack.

17. A smoking article package according to any preceding claim, wherein the closure member comprises at least three panels including a base panel which is permanently attachable to a wall of the pack, a distal panel and an intermediate panel joining the base and distal panels.

18. A smoking article package according to claim 17, wherein the intermediate and distal panels are substantially equal in length, and are longer than the base panel.

19. A smoking article package according to claim 17 or 18, wherein the at least three panels are superposed such that the distal panel is interposed between the base and intermediate panels when the closure member is in its first position.

20. A smoking article package according to claim 19, wherein a permanently tacky adhesive is provided on the outwardly facing surface of the base panel to releasably retain the distal panel in the first position between the base and intermediate panels.

21. A smoking article package according to any of claims 17 to 20, wherein a permanently tacky adhesive is provided on a portion of the distal panel to releasably retain it in the second position over the access aperture of the pack.

22. A smoking article package according to any of claims 17 to 21, wherein a fold line is formed between the intermediate and distal panels and is positionable over an edge of the top wall of the pack when the closure member is in its first and/or second position.

23. A smoking article package according to any of claims 17 to 22, wherein the intermediate and distal panels lie against a side wall and a top wall of the pack respectively when the closure member is in its second position.

24. A smoking article package according to any of claims 17 to 22, wherein the intermediate and distal panels lie against a front or rear major wall and a top wall of the pack respectively when the closure member is in its second position.

25. A smoking article package according to any of claims 1 to 16, wherein the closure member comprises four panels including a base panel, a distal panel and two intermediate panels joining the base and distal panels.

26. A smoking article package according to claim 25, wherein the length of the intermediate panel adjacent the distal panel is substantially equal to the width of the top wall of the pack.

27. A smoking article package according to claim 25 or 26, wherein the four panels are superposed such that the distal panel and its adjacent intermediate panel are interposed between the base panel and the other intermediate panel when the closure member is in its first position.

28. A smoking article package according to any of claims 25 to 27, wherein a permanently tacky adhesive is provided on the outwardly facing surface of the base panel to releasably retain the distal panel and its adjacent intermediate panel in the first position between the base panel and the other intermediate panel.

29. A smoking article package according to any of claims 25 to 28, wherein a permanently tacky adhesive is provided on a portion of the distal panel and/or its adjacent intermediate panel to selectively releasably retain said intermediate panel in the second position over the openable access aperture of the pack.

30. A smoking article package according to claim 29, wherein fold lines between the respective intermediate panels and between the distal panel and its adjacent intermediate panel are positionable over opposing edges of the top wall of the pack when the closure member is in its second position.

31. A smoking article package according to any of claims 25 to 30, wherein one intermediate panel and the distal panel lie against opposing side walls of the pack and the other intermediate panel extends over the entire top wall of the pack when the closure member is in its second position.

32. A smoking article package according to any of claims 25 to 30, wherein one intermediate panel and the distal panel lie against opposing front and rear walls of the pack and the other intermediate panel extends over the entire top wall of the pack when the closure member is in its second position.

33. A smoking article package according to any preceding claim, wherein the closure member comprises at least one fold line to define a user-operable tab.

34. A smoking article package according to any preceding claim, wherein the closure member is printed with indicia and/or graphics.

35. A smoking article package according to any preceding claim, wherein the wrapper is provided by a single ply.

36. A smoking article package according to any of claims I to 34, wherein the wrapper is provided by a multi-ply.

37. A smoking article package according to any of claims I to 34, wherein the wrapper is provided by a multi-wrapper.

38. A smoking article package substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures Ia, lb and Ic.

39. A smoking article package substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 2a, 2b,2c and 2d.