Government Puts Deadlines On Tobacco Ad Ban

The Department Of Health has announced that the ban on tobacco ads on billboards and in newspapers will come into force on 14 February next year.

In-pack promotional schemes and marketing drives will have to cease by 14 May 2003 and the Government is considering how to regulate point of sale advertising, brand sharing and sponsorship. Specific dates will be set in the future, although it is believed that Formula 1 racing will be given extra time to secure new sponsors, since it is so dependent on tobacco advertising.

The ban, which is part of last month’s Tobacco Advertising And Promotion Act, (see UK Tobacco Ad Ban Passed By Parliament), will also restrict internet advertising and other promotions.

Public Health Minister, Hazel Blears, commented: “This Act will control all sorts of advertising from billboards and the press to the internet; from brandsharing to sponsorship. Our commitment is to prevent all types of promotion where the cause or the effect is to promote a tobacco product, with only a few carefully defined exceptions.

The Government has also announced a major new media campaign to highlight the dangers of smoking, which will see £50 million spent over the next three years. It has undertaken independent research which shows that intensive campaigns can shift behaviour and reducing smoking.

According to the Department Of Health, smoking is the United Kingdom’s single greatest cause of preventable illness and early death. More than 120,000 people a year in the UK die from smoking.

Department Of Health www.doh.gov.uk

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