Tobacco Advertising

What is Tobacco Advertising?

In the first half of 2003, the Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002 banned the direct and indirect advertising or promotion of tobacco products. For the purposes of the ban, 'tobacco advertisement' is defined as an advertisement that has the sole purpose of promoting a tobacco product (direct advertising) or 'whose effect is to do so' (indirect advertising or brand-stretching). The Act says that a 'tobacco product' is anything made 'wholly or partly of tobacco and intended to be smoked, sniffed, sucked or chewed.'

Under the Act, tobacco advertising in the press and on billboards was outlawed from February 2003, while direct marketing was banned from May of the same year. The sponsorship of sporting events began to be phased out from July 2003, allowing some sports to reduce their reliance on tobacco revenue gradually. The Act coincided with the implementation of a weaker EU directive covering cross-border promotion in December 2002.

Ban on the use of tobacco advertising at Formula 1 Grands Prix and other sporting events in the EU came into effect on 1 August 2005.

Background

Labour pledged to ban tobacco advertising in its 1997 election manifesto: "Smoking is the greatest single cause of preventable illness and premature death in the UK. We will therefore ban tobacco advertising." A White Paper entitled 'Smoking Kills' was published in 1998. After a Government bill failed to become law before the 2001 general election, Ministers adopted an identically-drafted private member's bill, first introduced by Liberal Democrat Peer Lord Clement-Jones.

Television advertising of tobacco products was banned in the UK in 1965 under the Television Act 1964, which was reinforced by an EU directive in the 1980s. Other advertising, such as press and billboard, was governed by a self-regulatory agreement with the Government. This covered the manner of advertising and the positioning of promotional sites.

Controversies

Contentious issues are the degree to which tobacco advertising encourages people to take up smoking and to what extent individuals of different ages should be exposed to promotional messages.

Opponents of a ban argue that tobacco advertising does not grow the market for tobacco products, seeking only to influence the brand decisions of existing smokers and informed adults. As one firm submitted to the Commons Health Committee in 2000, "cigarette advertising does not cause people to take up smoking. Simply put, cigarette advertising has two purposes - to maintain brand loyalty and to encourage smokers to switch brands."

However, anti-smoking groups argue that advertising legitimises smoking and suggest that tobacco companies have deliberately targeted young people in an effort to recruit new customers to replace those who give up or die. Action on Smoking and Health argued in 2002 that "tobacco advertising encourages children to start smoking and reinforces the social acceptability of the habit among adults."

Statistics

All forms of tobacco advertising and promotion are banned in the UK with the exception of limited advertising at the point of sale. This will end when a ban on the display of tobacco products in shops enters into force from October 2011. Small shops will have until 2013 to comply with the law.

Tobacco advertising at the Point of Sale is now limited to the equivalent of one A5 size ad (21cm x 15cm) of which 30% of the surface area must include a health warning.

Source: ASH (action on smoking and health) - 2011

Quotes

"There is a significant body of independent research on under-age smoking from many different parts of the world which has repeatedly shown that the major determinants in under-age smoking are the influence of friends and family."

British American Tobacco (BAT) - 2011