Tag: tobacco advertising

European institutions in Brussels could learn from advertisers in better promoting the benefits of EU membership to citizens, argues Gary Leih, CEO of Ogilvy UK and President of the European Association of Communication Agencies (EACA) in an interview with EurActiv.

Germany will implement the Directive on tobacco advertising, following a recommendation by the European Court of Justice's Advocate General to dismiss Germany's action to partially annul the Directive.

After Germany and Luxembourg, Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy and Spain are being urged to transpose the Tobacco Advertising Directive into their national law.

Lung cancer rates throughout the EU are falling for men, but not for women, says a new report from the British Medical Journal.

The first global tobacco control treaty negotiated under the auspices of the World Health Organisation has entered into force. Tobacco causes nearly five million deaths a year.

An international self-regulatory code on sponsorship has been launched as discussions continue on the creation of an EU-wide 'Commercial Communications' market.

The existing EU-wide rules on television advertising should remain in force, while the qualitative restrictions should be adapted to the new advertising techniques, participants in the informal Audiovisual Council decided on 12-14 September.

The Commission is inviting proposals for graphics to be used as illustrations of health warnings on cigarette packages. The use of picture warnings will not be made mandatory.

The European Community was among the first signatories of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) on 16 June 2003.

EU Health Ministers were unable to reach an agreement on the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) during the extraordinary Council meeting on 6 May, due to German objections. The FCTC is to be signed later in May at the World Health Assembly.

The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, agreed in the WHO on 1 March 2003, will govern tobacco advertising, sponsorship, taxation, smoking prevention and treatment, as well as illicit trade.

On 2 December, the Health Council reached a political agreement on the draft directive banning most advertising and sponsorship of tobacco products.

On 15 November, MEPs from different political groups attacked the legal affairs Committee over their report on tobacco advertising.

The European Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee has called for substantial changes to the Commission's proposal for a new Directive to ban tobacco advertising and sponsoring.

The Commission adopted a communication and a proposal for regulation on sales promotions as part of its drive to modernise consumer policy. The regulation intends to abolish national restrictions on a series of sales promotion practices and aims to harmonise legislation in the EU on the protection of consumers, minors and public health.

New Commission plans to ban tobacco advertising despite last year's court ruling

Advertising relies mainly on self-regulation. Most of the self regulation organisations around the world base their work on the codes prepared and published by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). The EU is currently struggling on where to draw the line between self-regulation by the industry and government regulation, especially in the field of electronic communications.