[Intl-tobacco] UK: Government backs tobacco ad ban

[Robert Weissman]

Government backs tobacco ad ban
Promotion of tobacco products is set to be banned
by 
UK;
Source: BBC Online, 2002-03-15

The government is to back a Bill to ban tobacco advertising.

Health Secretary Alan Milburn said tobacco advertising promoted a
"deadly habit" and suggested a ban could save up to 3,000 lives a
year.

Anti-smoking campaigners welcomed the government's backing for the
Bill, which failed to become law in the last parliament.

The proposed legislation will ban press, billboard and internet
advertising
of tobacco products.

When the Bill becomes law, which anti-tobacco campaigners say could
be as early as the summer, it will put an end to sponsorship by
tobacco companies of sporting and other events.

It will stop the promotion of smoking through free distribution of
tobacco products, coupons and mailshots.

There will also be restrictions on the display and promotion of
tobacco products in shops laid out in the Bill.

The government estimates smoking kills over 120,000 people a year.
Seventy per cent of smokers say they want to give up but that they
find it very difficult because of the
addictive nature of nicotine.

'Deadly habit'

The Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Bill was introduced to
Parliament as a Private Members Bill by Liberal Democrat peer Lord
Clement-Jones in July 2001.

It successfully completed its Third Reading in the House of Lords on
Friday.

The Bill had originally been put forward by the government in
December 2000, but the legislative process was not completed because
the election was called.

Alan Milburn said: "Tobacco advertising promotes a deadly habit. The
brands most heavily advertised are those most heavily smoked by
children.

Speed is of the essence as we have been waiting long enough to stub
out the deadly marketing practices of the tobacco industry

Professor Gordon McVie, Cancer Research UK

"Research shows that an advertising ban could eventually
save up to 3,000 lives a year - a 2.5% reduction in the number of
deaths
caused by smoking.

"A ban on tobacco advertising is a tough but proportionate response
to the
marketing and promotion of the only legally available product which
kills
one in two of its regular long-term users."

He added: "The Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Bill will ensure
that tobacco
products are no longer promoted through advertising, sponsorship or
other
related schemes.

"The Bill will help deliver the governments commitment to reducing
smoking-related deaths from cancer and coronary heart disease and
tackling health inequalities."

Time of the essence

Lord Clement Jones said: "I am delighted that this essential public
health measure is now closer to the statute book.

"It is vital that the government does the right thing and gives this
bill the time it needs in the Commons to become law."

Professor Gordon McVie, joint director general of Cancer Research
UK, said: "Government support will dramatically improve the chances
of Lord Clement-Jones bill and today's news spells the last gasps
for tobacco advertising in this country.

"Cancer Research UK's research has shown that cigarette advertising
influences young people to start smoking and that is why it is
essential that no more time is wasted.

"Speed is of the essence as we have been waiting long enough to stub
out the deadly marketing practices of the tobacco industry."

Clive Bates from Action on Smoking and Health welcomed the
government's backing of the Bill.

He told BBC News Online it had been an "acid test of their
credibility". "Basically, they've passed."

He added hoped it would be on the statute books by the summer
recess.

Mr Bates said: "The Health Secretary and the Prime Minister giving
it government time in the
Commons recognises the bill's importance."

British Medical Association chairman Dr Ian Bogle, said: "Britain's
doctors have no doubt that this ban will save as many as 3,000 lives
a year.

"The evidence shows that comprehensive advertising bans cut tobacco
consumption. That is very good news for the nation's health - and
bad news for the tobacco industry."