Ad Association On Smee Report

The Advertising Association (AA) is the latest to criticise the Government’s Smee report on the direct effect of tobacco advertising on numbers of smokers. The Association is accusing the Government of ignoring extensive literature relating to factors which cause people to start and to continue to smoke.

It also states that the basic question of how advertising works has been overlooked in Clive Smee’s study, relating to the impact of advertising on specific markets such as alcohol. The research works which the report uses have not been dealt with adequately, according to the AA, saying that the authors of these pieces ” appear not to have appreciated the fundamental fallacy involved in drawing conclusions from correlations between attitudes to /approval of advertising and purchase behaviour”.

Finally, in the Association’s response to the report it suggests that sweeping conclusions were made throughout and that these were based on an insufficient review of the material involved. Full details of the AA’s response will be published on January 29.

Advertising Association: 071 828 2771