Tobacco ads ban challenged (fwd)

[Robert Weissman <rob@essential.org>]

Tobacco ads ban challenged

by Joe Murphy  
UK;
Source: Electronic Telegraph, Sunday, 8/8/99

THE Government faces a legal challenge to its decision to bring forward
the promised ban on tobacco advertising and sponsorship.

 It raises the threat of compensation payouts from the taxpayer totalling
millions of pounds being paid to companies, advertisers and retailers if
the ban is declared illegal after it has been enforced. Four UK tobacco
manufacturers - Gallagher, Imperial Tobacco, Rothmans (UK) and British
American Tobacco - last week applied to the High Court to halt the
implementation of the ban until another series of challenges is ruled on
by the European Court of Justice.

 Separate actions are being brought by four foreign tobacco firms and by
Germany in the European courts, all of which would overturn the British
ban if they succeeded. Britain is the only EU country which plans to
implement the ban before the European court cases are decided next year.

 Two months ago Frank Dobson, the Health Secretary, announced that he was
bringing it forward to December 10 this year. It is this decision,
designed to toughen the Government's anti-smoking credentials, which now
lays it open to the risk of having to pay compensation if the European
directive on which it is based is later quoshed.

The draft regulations will effectively stop most ways of promoting smoking
products throughout the European Union by 2001.