Energy: Tobacco advertising to be outlawed across the European Union, December 2002

Tobacco advertising across the European Union is to be banned from July 2005 following an agreement reached by health ministers from the EU's Member States at a meeting of the Health Council in Brussels on 2 December 2002.

Advertisements and sponsorship of tobacco products will be banned from newspapers and magazines, the internet and international sports events although tobacco advertising will still be allowed on posters, billboards, at the cinema and through indirect advertising such as cigarette logos on clothing. Magazines published outside the EU but distributed in the Member States will also still be able to carry tobacco adverts. However, tobacco companies will be prevented from distributing free tobacco products as a promotion. The ban on advertising at international sports events does extend to the Formula 1 sector although it will not come into force until 2006 - the year when the industry had already agreed to phase out tobacco advertising.

The agreement was opposed by Britain and Germany but they were unable to secure a blocking minority. The German government is believed to have opposed the ban because of fears about the negative effects it would have on the country's already struggling media industry, which currently earns €40m to €50m a year from tobacco companies. The British government argued that the measures did not go far enough and that the proposal needed to be amended to ensure it was legally watertight. According to the UK Health Secretary, Alan Milburn, 'if there is any gap in the directive, the industry will seek to exploit this.'

The agreement was welcomed by David Byrne, the European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, as 'another nail in the coffin of the tobacco industry'. He said that the advertising ban would make it much more difficult for Big Tobacco to recruit the 500,000 new smokers it needs each year 'to replace the ones who die prematurely due to smoking-related diseases' and would help the European Commission to achieve its aim of bringing the number of smoking-related deaths in the EU down to a figure closer to that of the United States.

The proposal to ban tobacco advertising was presented by the European Commission in May 2001 after the European Court of Justice annulled a previous Directive on the issue on 5 October 2000. Germany brought the case before the court arguing that Directive/98/34/EC did not fall within the remit of the European Commission's legal competence since the area of health protection is still controlled by the Member States. The Court of Justice agreed with Germany's argument but stated that Article 95 (Internal Market) of the EC Treaty could, in principle, be used as the legal basis for a directive laying down a more limited ban on tobacco advertising and sponsorship. On the basis of the ruling, the European Commission's proposal for a new Directive is based on internal market rules claiming that tobacco advertising is an obstacle to the functioning of the Internal Market.

The European Parliament held its first reading of the proposal on 20 November 2002 and voted in support of the proposal with only two amendments. Since these were supported by the Health Council no second reading will be necessary and the formal text of the Directive should be adopted at a forthcoming Council meeting.

In a further move against smoking related illnesses the Health Council also adopted a far-reaching Recommendation on the prevention of smoking and on initiatives to improve tobacco control. The Recommendation addresses aspects of tobacco control that are the responsibility of the Member States such as tobacco sales to children and adolescents and the environmental effects of tobacco smoke. Measures suggested include removing tobacco products from self-service displays and preventing the sale of cigarettes in (cheaper) packages of fewer than twenty. National Member States are also called upon to ensure adequate protection from exposure to passive smoking at the work places, in enclosed public places and in public transport; and to strengthen smoking prevention programmes.

Links:
Council of the European Union:
	02.12.02:	Press Release: Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council, Brussels, 2-3 December 2002 [PRES/02/376]
European Commission:
	02.12.02:	Press Release: Double-blow to tobacco: Byrne welcomes political agreement on cigarettes advertising ban and smoking prevention measures [IP/02/1788]
	30.05.01:	Press Release: Commission proposes to prohibit tobacco advertising [IP/01/767]
	DG Health and Consumer Protection: Tobacco
BBC News Online:
	02.12.02:	EU adopts tobacco ban
	21.11.02:	MEPs back tobacco promotion ban
European Sources Online: Financial Times:
	25.11.02:	European Union agrees to outlaw tobacco advertising
European Sources Online: In Focus
	MEPs support ban on tobacco advertising, November 2002
	Tobacco: Contradictory policies
European Sources Online: Topic Guides
	The European Union and Public Health

Helen Bower
Compiled: Tuesday, 3 December 2002

Tobacco advertising across the European Union is to be banned from July 2005 following an agreement reached by health ministers from the EU's Member States at a meeting of the Health Council in Brussels on 2 December 2002.