Press Release: World No Tobacco Day: EU Tobacco Advertising Ban Effective, concludes EU report

Less than three years after coming into force the EU advertising ban has proven its effectiveness. This was the conclusion of the Commission report on the performance of the Tobacco Advertising Directive. Today, all Member States have transposed the Directive and tobacco brand advertising in the press aimed at the general public has virtually disappeared. Direct tobacco sponsorship of cross-border sports and other events within the EU has also ceased. The key challenge in the tobacco advertising ban has shifted to the internet which is difficult to control. The Commission is working with the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control to strengthen advertising bans at global level, to ensure that the EU ban is not undermined from the outside.