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Briefing: tobacco advertising

About 120,000 smokers die each year in the UK from smoking related diseases. This is a lot of customers, which the tobacco industry needs to replace. The tobacco industry uses various marketing strategies to target particular groups, such as the young, the poor, women and students. Children are clearly a key target since few smokers start after about 18 years of age.

The industry claims that its marketing just encourages 'brand switching' amongst adult smokers and does not increase overall consumption or encourage children to start. In fact, industry documents from five advertising agencies with tobacco accounts, were made available by the House of Commons Health Select Committee. They show that advertising aims to increase consumption and brand share and that the young are a key target (1).

The impact of advertising

Research funded by Cancer Research UK has shown that cigarette advertising encourages young people to start smoking. Teenagers aged 15 and 16 are aware of and participate in many forms of tobacco marketing, and this is consistently associated with becoming a smoker (2).

Existing smokers use tobacco advertising messages to falsely reassure themselves about the risks of smoking. Before the advertising ban annual expenditure by the industry was approximately £25 million on direct advertising, £8 million on sport sponsorship and a further £70 million on Formula One in the UK; a total of just over £100 million. In 2002/2003 the government spent just £13 million on anti-smoking publicity for England (3).

Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act

A tobacco advertising ban is a cornerstone of tobacco control policy. For many years Cancer Research UK has been lobbying, with other health bodies, for a total ban on tobacco advertising. In November 2002 Royal Assent was given to the Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Bill, and the new Act came into force in February 2003.

The law bans any advertisement that has the purpose or effect of promoting a tobacco product. This includes at least adverts in print and broadcast media, billboards, the internet, direct mail, and product placement - but the legislation does not specify different types of advertising. It also bans promotions, free gifts, coupons and sponsorships, where the aim or effect is to promote a tobacco product. Special arrangements are to be made for point of sale advertising, and for 'brand-sharing' - the advertising of tobacco brands through non-tobacco products, which will not be completely outlawed.

The legislation will be fully implemented by 31 July 2005 when international sponsorship (Formula One, World Snooker) is banned. Overall the government has estimated that this law will save around 3,000 British lives every year (4).

Cancer Research UK's concerns about the new advertising ban

There are several potential weaknesses in the law that we believe may need to be tightened up.

On brand sharing for example, it is unclear where the boundary between a tobacco advertisement and a genuine non-tobacco ad will be. Worse, the burden of proof will be on authorities to show that a given advertisement promotes tobacco, yet the great strength of brand sharing is its ambiguity.

There is no logic in allowing point of sale advertising. Why is the location (often sweet shops) relevant? The definitions are loose enough to allow new forms of point of sale promotion to be introduced. We believe a total advertising ban should mean a total advertising ban.

The extra time for international sponsorship (most notably Formula One) was disappointing and controversial from the start. There was never any justification for it and it is disappointing that the new law recognises it. The companies that sponsor F1 will be able to exploit this residual marketing opportunity.

The internet is likely to prove particularly difficult to control. For example much internet advertising could change to 'brandsharing' - especially easy for those with established non-tobacco products.

Cancer Research UK welcomes the new law but its Centre for Tobacco Control research will monitor the effects of the ban and the tobacco industry's response to it, and propose improvements when appropriate.

References

1) House of Commons Select Committee on Health. The Tobacco Industry and the Health Risks of Smoking. London, The Stationery Office, 2000.2) Hansard, 2003, House of Commons - answer to parliamentary question no. 09641.

2) MacFadyen L, Hastings G, MacKintosh AM. Cross sectional study of young people's awareness of and involvement with tobacco marketing. BMJ 2001;322:513-7.

3) Hansard, 2003, House of Commons - answer to parliamentary question no. 09641.

4) Department of Health. Advertising of tobacco products. DH website, 2004. http://www.doh.gov.uk/tobacco/adtobacco.htm