DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
    IFX vcu..~s~s reIEE~.-asE-:)
    94\235  13 May 1994
    NEW V!2LU-NTARY AGREEMENT TO CONTROL
    TOBACCO ADVE:RTLSING
    Tom Sackville, Parliamentary Secretary for Health, announced today that the main
    elements of a new voluntary agreement on tobacco advertising and promotion have been
    agreed with the tobacco industry, It follows the commitment given in "Smoke-Free for
    Health" (published 7 February 1994) that the Government would seek to strengthen the
    existing agreement. Mr Sackville said:
    "I am pleased to announce that the UK Health Departments and the tobacco industry have
    concluded negotiations on the main elements of a new voluntary agreement on tobacco
    advertising and promotion.
    "A number of significant new measures to control tobacco advertising will be introduced,
    which will have a wide-ranging impact, in particular on the exposure of young people to
    advertisements and on the effectiveness of health warnings. I believe that they provide
    reassurance as to the value of a system of voluntary controis on tobacco advertising in
    deUvering an effective level of health protection.
    "The main additions to the existing agreement which have been agreed between UK
    Health Ministers and the tobacco industry will be:
    Shppfront advertising
    the removal of all permanent shopfront adver-dsing for all tobacco products
    by the end of 1996;
    Poster advertising
    a reduction in the expenditure allowed on cigarette poster advertising by
    40%. This will give a new limit for cigarette poster advertising spend of
    3G% of the 1980 expenditure level, allowing for inflation;
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    the removal of all small poster advertising for cigarettes and hand-rolling
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    tobacco, including bus stop advertising (48 sheet posters and above will still
    be allowed);
    the removal of all mobile advertising for cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco,
    including advertisements on buses and taxis;
    the removal of all poster advertising for all tobacco products from within a 200
    metre radius of school entrances;
    Health warnines
    a significant increase in the size and impact of health warnings on cigarette and
    hand-rolling tobacco advertisements, including:
    increasing the space devoted to the health warning to 20 per cent
    of the total area of the advertisement;
    - increasing the size of the lettering of the health warning by
    approximately 80 per cent in posters and 50 per cent in press
    advertisements;
    - rotating the presentation of health warnings between black
    lettering on a white background and white lettering on a black
    background to increase impact;
    the introduction of health warnings on cigar and pipe tobacco advertisements
    for the first time, covering 10% of the total area:
    a requirement for all point of sale advertising material for cigarettes, hand-
    rolling tobacco, cigars and pipe tobacco to carry health warnings, not just
    larger items of cigarette and hand-rolling tobacco advertising;
    the introduction of health warnings on certain items of promotional material
    for cigarettes and harid-rolling tobacco, including for examole beer mats and
    ashtrays;
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    Content of advertisements
    the controls on the content of cigarette advenisements, presently being updated
    by the Advertising Standards Authority, should prevent the use of humour in
    cigarette advertisements which would be likely to have a particular appeal to
    the young;
    Provision of sam2tes of cigarettes
    the introduction of a new Code of Practice to help ensure that free samples of
    cigarettes are not available to under 18s;
    Coml2uter garne
    a ban on advertising for tobacco produ= on computer games or on other
    computer software;
    Monitoring of the agm-nent
    a provision for increased expenditure by the Committee for Monitoring
    Agreements on Tobacco Advertising and Sponsorship on monitoring
    compliance with the new agreement.
    "The new agreement, which will run for 5 years, wiU be published and come into force
    shortly. It will need to be approved under the Restrictive Trade Practices Act 1976."
    Notes for Editors
    1. The last voluntary agreement between UK Health Ministers and the tobacco industry
    on tobacco advertising and promotion was concluded in September 1991 and runs at least
    until 1 June 1994. Amongst other things it introduced a 50% reduction'in permanent
    shopfront advertising over 5 years and ensured that the new health warnings required by EC
    law on cigarette packets (such as "Smoking KiUs") also atmeared on advertsements.
    Compliance with the voluntary agreement is monitored by the Committee for
    Monitoring the Voluntary Agreements on Advertising and Sponsorship. The Committee has
    an independent Chairman (Sir John Blefloch) and members from the Government and the
    tobacco industry. The Chairman is required to report annually to Ministers. Any complaints
    about possible ~reaches of the agreement should be addresse~ to the Secretary. COMATAS.
    PO Box 3982. LONDON SEI 8YJ.
    (ENDS)
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    BATCo document for Legal Services Health Canada 21 October 1999