UK: Tobacco Sponsorship To Go

The UK government has announced that, in addition to introducing legislation to outlaw tobacco advertising, it will also ban tobacco sponsorship of sporting events. On 19 May Frank Dobson, the Secretary of State for Health, said that the Bill to ban advertising will now include “all forms of tobacco advertising, including sponsorship.” Meanwhile, Tessa Jowell, Britain’s Health Minister, has agreed to meet representatives of the Tobacco Manufacturers Association (TMA) for talks about the ban on advertising and sponsorship, although no date has yet been fixed. The TMA “firmly believes that an advertising and sponsorship ban will not achieve the Government’s aim of reducing tobacco consumption.”