Tobacco advertising remains significant

Article 13 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) requires Parties to the treaty to implement and enforce a comprehensive ban on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship within five years of ratification of the treaty. Thirty countries are just one provision away from a comprehensive ban on advertising.Purpose and impact of advertisingOne of the main objectives of tobacco advertising is to attract new customers. Tobacco companies use diverse modalities to promote their products by segmenting their targets. Tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship activities are tailored to specific populations. Young people and women are particularly targeted. Exposure to tobacco advertising and promotion increases the likelihood that adolescents will start using tobacco. This initiation leads to the maintenance and development of the tobacco norm. New products are also launched on the markets and the accompanying promotion aims to circumvent existing regulations and maintain the social acceptability of tobacco.Despite their effectiveness, most countries have not completely banned ads.[1]Article 13 Guidelines[2] recommend that the ban on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship be comprehensive and include the removal of tobacco product displays at points of sale and the adoption of plain packaging to eliminate the use of the packet as an advertising medium.

• Only seven countries in the WHO European Region have a total ban on all forms of direct and indirect advertising.[3].
• The forms of tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship that frequently persist are tobacco point-of-sale displays, the use of packaging as an advertising medium and product or behavioural placements on television and/or cinema. As of 2018, only 10 countries in the European Region (19%) had banned the display of tobacco products at points of sale.[4].

The measures that need to be put in place

• The principle of a general and unexceptional ban on advertising, promotion and sponsorship should be adopted.
• The exceptions that persist concerning advertising at points of sale, by means of displays or by maintaining the display of products, the use of packaging should be removed.
• It is important to include new technologies, such as the use of social media, in the scope of monitoring and enforcement of the ban.
• The legislation should apply to both domestic and inbound and outbound cross-border advertising, such as tobacco advertising on websites, international broadcasting networks. The same applies to sponsorship of any kind, particularly of international sporting and cultural events.

Learn more: WHO REPORT ON THE GLOBAL TOBACCO EPIDEMIC, 2019©Tobacco Free Generation

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[1] https://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/447333/Enforce-bans-on-TAPS-eng.pdf[2] https://www.who.int/fctc/treaty_instruments/article_13_fr.pdf?ua=1[3] WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic, 2019[4] Ibid©National Committee Against Smoking |