Tobacco advertising banned

The Directive that bans tobacco advertising in the print media, on radio, and over the Internet, which was passed by the European Parliament and Council in 2003, comes into effect today. It also prohibits tobacco sponsorship of cross-border cultural and sporting events.

The European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, Markos Kyprianou, said: "Banning tobacco advertising is one of the most effective ways of reducing smoking. This Directive will save lives and reduce the number of Europeans who suffer from smoking-related illnesses."

In fact around 650,000 people die each year in the EU from smoking-related diseases, so even a small decrease in smoking prevalence has the potential to save thousands of lives.

Tobacco advertising on television has been banned in the EU since the early Nineties and is governed by the 'TV Without Frontiers Directive'.

According to a World Bank study, advertising bans can reduce smoking prevalence by up to seven per cent.

The WHO's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, for which the EU recently completed its ratification, has as one of its objectives a worldwide ban on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship.