UK tobacco advertising ban delayed (fwd)

[Robert Weissman <rob@essential.org>]

UK tobacco advertising ban delayed
There is concern about the effect of tobacco advertising on teenagers
Source: BBC Online, Sunday, 10/10/99

Sunday, October 10, 1999 Published at 15:12 GMT 16:12 UK

Britain has softened plans to introduce a blanket ban on tobacco
advertising this year in a move that will allow some promotions to be
phased out over a longer period.

"The most visible advertising on posters, billboards and in the press will
go by December of this year," said a spokeswoman for the Department of
Health. This is in line with proposals announced in June.

But she said there could be some transitional arrangements to take account
of concerns raised by the industry, and that further details would be
given on Monday.

Anti-smoking campaigners Ash: "advertisers have had long enough"

The blanket ban had been due to take effect from 10 December, outlawing
all forms of advertising, apart from price lists and display material in
shops.

But weekend newspaper reports suggested Health Secretary Frank Dobson was
about to unveil a package of concessions which would delay elements of the
ban by up to three years.

The change of plan coincides with a legal challenge to the ban in the High
Court by the Tobacco Manufacturers' Association.

The legal action, which is still expected to go ahead, claims the proposed
ban is illegal because it is based on a directive currently under
consideration by the European Court of Justice.

The UK government in effect declared war on tobacco advertising in June
when it announced a ban would come into force two years ahead of European
Union regulations. But the reported concessions, if accurate, would give
companies longer to make alternative arrangements.

The measures are said to be viewed by the government as a "sensible
compromise" between the health benefits of a crackdown on tobacco and the
concerns of the industry.

The new timetable is expected to be:

March 2000 - final deadline for retailers to ensure their outlets comply

July 2000 - end of direct marketing campaigns and in-pack promotion
schemes

July 2001 - companies which shared branding with tobacco products must
ensure their branding is distinct

July 2002 - ban comes into force on tobacco advertising within in-flight
magazines on flights operated by non-EU airlines and on EU publications
sold in the UK.

The anti-smoking group, Ash, gave a mixed response to the change. It
dismissed the transitional arrangements as "pointless appeasement" but
welcomed new enforcement powers for the Health Secretary included in the
package.

Ash's director, Clive Bates, said: "I don't know why the Government is
bending over backwards to appease the tobacco industry with these
concessions.

"Tobacco advertisers have been on notice since Labour published its
manifesto in 1997 and have already had more than enough transitional
time."

But Mr Bates added: "We should still keep in mind and applaud the
approaching end of tobacco advertising."