EU Decide on Earlier Tobacco Ad Ban

EU health ministers have backed a tough new law extending a ban on tobacco advertising to radio, newspapers and the Internet, but diplomats say Germany is likely to challenge it in the European Union's top court.

Monday's decision, taken despite opposition by Britain and Germany, was a blow to media firms at a time when advertising revenues have slumped due to an economic slowdown.

But health campaigners also offered a cool welcome as the ruling did not target indirect advertising.

Ministers also approved recommendations to boost the fight against smoking inside the 15-nation bloc, where more than half a million people die of tobacco-related diseases each year.

EU rules already prohibit cigarette advertising on television and most member states have other extensive bans in place. The new law aims to standardise the varied legislation of the 15 EU states and set clear bans in various media.

"Ministers today hit the tobacco industry where it hurts," Health Commissioner David Byrne said in a statement after a debate among ministers where Germany and Britain were outvoted.

"In the EU alone, Big Tobacco needs to recruit 500,000 new smokers each year to replace the ones who die prematurely due to smoking-related diseases. The measures we agreed today will make it more difficult for them to do that," Byrne said.

Court Battle Ahead?

The decision means the law will come into force 20 days after it is published in the EU's Official Journal. Member states then have two years to implement it in national law.

Certain areas of tobacco advertising remain unaffected -- posters, billboards, cinema and indirect advertising, such as cigarette logos on clothing. But the law allows member states to regulate these areas for themselves if they wish.

Magazines published outside the EU and distributed in member states will not be affected by the ban.

Germany, keen to protect its ailing publishing sector, sought in vain to have national newspapers and magazines which are not sold across borders excluded from the ban.

A top German official said Berlin would examine whether to challenge the law in the European Court of Justice, since the EU was not empowered to regulate national advertising markets.

"The government will examine the directive and decide whether to go court," State Secretary for Consumer Protection Alexander Mueller told reporters.

Diplomats said a decision, most likely in favour of court action, was likely to be taken within the next three weeks.

According to European newspaper publishers, some small local newspapers in Germany could be forced to close if the ban was imposed as many of them depended financially on the tobacco ads.

"(The ban) will hopefully be annulled by the Court of Justice just as the first one was," Dietmar Wolff, director of the European Newspaper Publishers Association told Reuters.

"Newspapers and magazines are suffering from the economic crisis. This will only make smaller publishers more vulnerable to media concentration," he said.

Smoking - "a Perverse Habit"

But many member states, including France and Italy, said the ban did not go far enough. Italian Health Minister Girolamo Sirchia said the EU had to go further if it wanted to stop "the perverse habit" of smoking.

Anti-tobacco campaigners said the ban was not watertight.

"If you leave the tobacco companies the option to advertise cigarette brands using boots, clothing...or other non-tobacco products then that is what they will do," said Clive Bates, director of anti-smoking group ASH.

The European Commission, which drafted the proposals, had to return to the drawing board two years ago when the court ruled that an earlier version tended to give Brussels powers over health policy, an area reserved for EU member states.