Facts from the WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic
Enforce bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship
Facts:
- Tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship can make smoking more socially acceptable, impede efforts to educate people about the hazards of tobacco use, and strengthen the tobacco industry’s influence over media, sporting and entertainment businesses.
- A comprehensive ban on all advertising, promotion and sponsorship protects people from industry marketing tactics and could decrease tobacco consumption by about 7%, independent of other tobacco control interventions.
- Complete bans block the industry’s ability to continue marketing to young people who have not yet started to use tobacco, and to adult tobacco users who want to quit.
- Partial bans have little or no effect: if advertising is prohibited in a particular medium, the tobacco industry merely redirects expenditures to places where advertising is permitted.
- The tobacco industry strongly opposes marketing bans because they are highly effective in reducing tobacco use. The industry often argues that outright bans on advertising, promotion and sponsorship are not necessary and that voluntary codes and self-regulation are sufficient. However, voluntary restrictions are ineffective because there is no force of law, and ultimately the industry fails to comply with its own voluntary regulations.
- Government intervention through well-drafted and well-enforced legislation is required because the tobacco industry has substantial expertise in circumventing advertising bans.
Key finding:
- Only about 6% of the world's population is covered by comprehensive bans on all tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship.