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EU Passes Tobacco ad ban
EU OKs Tobacco Ad Phaseout
Wednesday, May 13, 1998; 10:20 a.m. EDT
STRASBOURG, France (AP) - The European Parliament on
Wednesday approved a gradual phase-out of tobacco
advertising in the
15 nation European Union.
The Parliament accepted without amendments a ban which
will abolish
almost all tobacco advertising by 2006. The Council of
15 EU health
ministers already backed the plan in December.
Under the directive, most tobacco advertising will be
illegal within four
years and cigarette makers will have until October 2006
to end their
sponsorship of major sports and cultural events.
``This directive is a giant leap forward in the fight to
reduce smoking, save
lives and protect children from the pernicious of
tobacco advertising and
promotion,'' said British Public Health Minister Tessa
Jowell.
The directive now goes back to the Council of ministers
for action that will
make it the law of the region. That action is expected
before the end of
June.
Some nations, such as Germany and Austria, have opposed
the ban,
arguing that a public health issue should be left to
individual EU nations to
decide.
Tobacco advertising is already banned in Finland,
France, Italy, Portugal
and Sweden. Belgium plans to ban it next year.
Proposals to ban tobacco ads across the 15-nation EU
have repeatedly
failed since they were first introduced ten years ago
and cigarette
producers have fought the proposed legislation until
Wednesday's vote.
Advertisers and newspaper and magazine publishers also
oppose the ban.
The ban could face legal challenges from opponents,
officials said.
Until December, Britain opposed a tobacco advertising
and sponsoring
ban and long demanded a permanent exemption for Formula
One racing,
a popular sport in Britain. In the end, the breakthrough
came when Britain
agreed to a temporary exemption.
The ASH anti-tobacco group said in a statement that,
with the
parliamentary approval, finally the EU ``is ready to put
a stop to the
promotion of the single most deadly and addictive
consumer product ever
created.''
Despite the ban, the EU is still subsidizing production
of 350,000 tons of
tobacco each year.
© Copyright 1998 The Associated Press
May 14 1998, Times of London EUROPE
EU vote spells end to tobacco ads in four years
FROM CHARLES BREMNER IN BRUSSELS
A EUROPE-wide ban on tobacco advertising and
sponsorship was approved yesterday by the European
Parliament, opening the way to enactment of the law
before the end of the British presidency of the EU in July.
The Parliament endorsed without amendments the draft
already passed by EU ministers, guaranteeing the passage
of a law that has been subject to nine years of wrangling
and a fierce rearguard campaign by German MEPs, the
tobacco industry, publishers and Formula One motor
racing.
However, the law is likely to face a challenge in the
European Court of Justice from Germany, on the ground
that it breaches the EU's Treaty of Rome. "The fight goes
on - see you in court," said John Carlisle, director of the
British Tobacco Manufacturers' Association.
Opponents of the law took heart from the support of 211
MEPs against a 314 majority for an amendment rejecting
the whole draft. The Parliament's legal committee ruled
last month that the law had no legal basis.
The EU Commission and Council of Ministers said that
they had no doubts about the legality of the measure,
which was based on the EU's single market rules. The
British Medical Association welcomed the vote. "To our
shame the UK was party to the blocking of the directive
for many years," it said. "We are delighted that today we
have taken an historic step towards effective tobacco
control." It was time now to end the "absurd" practice in
which the EU subsidised tobacco growers, it said.
Padraig Flynn, the EU Commissioner who pushed through
the law, said the advertising ban "will be seen as a major
landmark in the development of public health policy in the
EU ... This will serve as an example worldwide that
Europe is prepared to take the lead in reducing the
appalling death toll."
After expected endorsement by health ministers next
month, all public advertising such as billboards must be
phased out within three years of the law taking effect.
Press advertisements must end within four years. Tobacco
sponsorship of most sports and arts events and indirect
advertising must end within six years. World events, such
as Formula One, must end sponsorship after eight years
and in any case by October 2006. The controversial
exemption for Formula One and other "major international
events" was won by Britain when the draft law was
passed by a slim majority of health ministers last
December.
Passage of the law was made possible by Britain's switch
from opposition under the Conservative Government, to
support by Tony Blair's administration. British
Conservative MEPs voted against the ban. The
Government sees the law as one of the main achievements
of its six months in the EU chair.
Health organisations across Europe welcomed the
Parliament's verdict, reached after an intense lobbying
effort by the tobacco industry that British officials had
feared could derail the measure. In a heated final debate,
Christan Cabrol, a French MEP and famous heart
surgeon, said MEPs would be held responsible for "mass
murder" if they failed to endorse the law. "Tobacco kills.
Five hundred thousand people prove that every year in the
European Union," he told the assembly.
While Germany and the publishing industry oppose the
ban mainly in the name of freedom of expression, the
tobacco industry insists that there is no evidence to
suggest that advertising promotes overall tobacco
consumption.
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Copyright 1998 Times Newspapers Ltd.