EU Vote Brings Tobacco Advertising Ban Closer

A crackdown on tobacco advertising in the European Union came a step closer today when Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) backed a ban on cigarette promotion in a wide range of media.

The European Commission, the 15-nation bloc's executive arm, had to go back to the drawing board two years ago after the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled an earlier version of the law had attempted to give Brussels power over health policy - an area reserved for control by EU member states.

The law, if agreed by national governments, will spell the end of tobacco advertising in newspapers, on the radio and Internet as well as sports sponsorship by July 2005. Formula One's ruling body, the International Automobile Federation (FIA), backs an alternative policy and have agreed to stop all tobacco advertising at the end of the 2006 season.

While the draft approved on Wednesday narrows the scope of the bill by restricting sponsorship by tobacco firms only where it had a "significant cross-border impact", it still includes a general ban on the print media, and also radio and Internet.

"What we are looking at today is, probably, the legislation which bans advertising of tobacco in newspapers, magazines, periodicals, on the radio and Internet. I am very, very pleased about this," said David Byrne, European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Affairs.

"It's an important day for public health," he told reporters. "This will help reduce tobacco consumption by removing the image that tobacco is 'cool'. I predict that this legislation will be in final form by next summer."

Certain areas are unaffected by the draft law - posters, billboards, cinema and so-called indirect advertising, such as cigarette logos on clothing. An amendment does provide for member state governments 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 proposed ban.

Tobacco Giants Fought It

Initially the Commission had wanted complete harmonisation of tobacco advertising policy, with the aim of imposing a total ban envisaged in a law dating from 1998. But the ECJ knocked this down in a landmark ruling in October 2000, saying that law had the wrong legal base for dealing with what was primarily a public health issue.

"The new proposal presented by the Commission goes as far as possible, given the legal framework set by the Court of Justice, in restricting the advertising and sponsorship of tobacco products", said the bill's lead parliamentary sponsor, Spanish Socialist MEP Manuel Medina Ortega.

EU regulations already ban tobacco advertising on television and most member states already have extensive bans in place. The draft law, if finally approved, would replace different standards in EU countries where more than half a million people die of tobacco-related diseases every year.

"There is too high a level of tobacco consumption in the European Union," Byrne said, adding that Germany and Greece had the highest share of smokers in their populations, at 37 percent apiece, while Sweden had the lowest, at 19 percent.

The draft legislation still needs a second reading by the European Parliament and approval by EU governments before it can take effect. It will next be discussed by EU health ministers in early December. Arlene McCarthy, a British Labour MEP, said parliament was determined to push the law through.

"The tobacco giants have fought this legislation every step of the way," she said. "They got rid of Europe's first ad ban on a technicality, but we will not let the new law go the same way."