Plan to ban tobacco ads revived

Date: 15/05/1997

LABOUR'S victory in the UK election looks set to break the long-running impasse over plans to ban tobacco advertising across the EU.

But anti-smoking campaigners may have to wait a while for their moment of triumph.

Dutch Health Minister Els Borst-Eilers has begun sounding out her new British counterpart Frank Dobson on whether the issue should be discussed at the next meeting of EU health ministers on 5 June.

But UK officials have indicated that this will be too soon to allow a meaningful debate, prompting speculation that a 4 December meeting pencilled in by the Luxembourg presidency is a more likely date for a serious attempt at agreement.

In its election manifesto, Labour supported the idea of a ban in the UK, but has since decided to begin the process with a White Paper rather than bringing forward immediate proposals for legislation.

EU officials have long believed that a change of attitude in the UK might be enough to end the blocking minority which has held up progress on the proposal since 1989.

But, after several false alarms, Health Commissioner Pádraig Flynn's officials are refusing to be too optimistic. “This has already been discussed in Council about 15 times. Of course we would be delighted if the British changed their position. But it does seem surprising that the Dutch minister is taking this initiative,” said one official.

Commission doubts are based largely on the fact that the Netherlands has been one of the most consistent opponents of the ban, thanks to its role as the largest exporter of cigarettes and cigars in the EU. Some reports have suggested the Dutch might change their view if the UK does.

Other countries firmly opposed to the ban are Germany, the Union's largest manufacturer and biggest supplier to central and eastern Europe; Denmark, for philosophical reasons related to freedom of speech; and Greece, principally because of its producer interests.

How member states react to the plans will also depend on the compromise put forward.

The Commission's original proposals were fairly prescriptive, seeking to stop all forms of advertising except at point of sale and including a proposed ban on indirect advertising through linking brand names to products such as clothing.

But the last compromise, tabled by the Italians in mid-1996, was relatively minimalist and met with less resistance than earlier ones.

New impetus was added to the debate earlier this year when the Belgian parliament voted to phase out tobacco advertising from the start of 1999.

After numerous disappointments, anti-smoking campaigners are watching events with interest. Luc Joosens, consultant to the International Union Against Cancer, declared: “Either things will move this year, or they will never move again.”

Although ministers are unlikely to discuss the advertising proposal in detail at next month's meeting, they are expected to debate the wider issue of ways to reduce tobacco consumption.