UK Tobacco Ad Ban Passed By Parliament
Legislation to ban tobacco advertising in Britain passed through the House of Commons last night, 40 years after the Royal College of Physicians published conclusive evidence linking smoking with lung cancer.
The proposed legislation will ban press, billboard and online advertising of tobacco and will prohibit free distribution of tobacco products, direct mail or coupon offers. There will also be restrictions on the display and promotion of tobacco products in shops and an end to sponsorship by tobacco companies of sporting and other events.
It is expected that tobacco advertising will be banned by the end of the year, although sporting events will have up to 2003 to find non-tobacco sponsors, while Formula One motor racing will have until 2006.
The Bill, proposed by the Liberal Democrats, has been crawling through Parliament for over a year despite strong lobbying. It has faced tough opposition from big businesses and the Conservative Party, which has consistently claimed that no clear links can be made between advertising and the number of people taking up smoking.
However, a review by the UK Department of Health’s chief economic adviser has found that in countries that have implemented a tobacco advertising ban, there has been a drop in tobacco consumption of between 4% and 16%.
In Parliament last night, Labour’s Junior Health Minister, Hazel Blears, claimed: “Smoking eventually kills one in every two smokers. Banning tobacco advertising does cut consumption but only if it is comprehensive.”
The Action On Smoking And Health group (ASH) estimates that the tobacco industry currently spends about £135 million a year promoting tobacco. This comprises £50m on press and poster advertising, £7m on direct marketing, £8m on sponsorship of sport (excluding Formula One) and a further £70m on Formula One in the UK.
Department Of Health www.doh.gov.uk
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