ADVICE NOTE: TOBACCO ADVERTISEMENTS 0 April 1994 7h@ Advactising Standards Authodty Brook House 2- 16 Torrington Place London WCIE 7HN Telephone 071580 5555 Fox 0716313051 Ur , CD C-, BATCo document for Legal Services : Health Canada 21 October 1999 ADVICE NOTE: TOBACCO ADVERTISEMENTS CONTENTS Introduction 1 Cigarette Advertising Control I Pre-Publication Clearance 2 Complaints 3 Cigarette Rules 5 1. Youth 5 2. Health and Environment 5 3. Social and Sexual Success 6 4. Relaxation and Concentration 6 General and Sales Promotion Rules 6 The Future and the Review of the Codes 7 ASA Contacts 8 0 (-n U-1 BATCo document for Legal Services : Health Canada 21 October 1999 1 INTRODUC110N This advice note is intended to highlight work undertaken by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) on the subject of tobacco advertisements, which, for our purposes, includes cigarettes and rolling tobacco but not cigars, cheroots. pipe tobacco or snuff. Also excluded are ancillary products such as pipes, cigarette holders, matches or lighters, except where these can be said to resemble cigarettes or their containers. While this note is no substitute for the British Code of Advertising Practice (BCAP), it does offer guidance on the Code's content. The CAP Copy Advice team is always available to offer more detailed advice on a fast. free and confidential basis. CIGARETTE ADVERTISING CONTROL The rules governing cigarette advertisements are drawn up by the tobacco manufacturers, the Department of Health and the Advertising Stand-ards Authority as part of the Voluntary Agreements on Tobacco Products' Advertising, Promotions and Health Warnings. The rules are contained within an appendix to SCAP and are generally known as the Cigarette Code. ~_rΠ(Ji Uq CI.) BATCo document for Legal Services : Health Canada 21 October 1999 2 The ASA.*--- role is to act as final arbiter of the Code's rules and to supervise the pre--;-zarance procedure under which all cigarette advertisements must be sc-L:::m;sed and certified as acceptable before they can be published. The ASA. assesses only the content of the advertisements', health warnings, contrcis cn location and sponsorship are covered by other voluntary agreer,-=-!,:s outside the Authority's scope. 0 PRE-PUSLICATION CLEARANCE Clgar,-_ and hand-rolling tobacco advertisements may only appear if they have da!nonstrated that they conform to the rules in the Cigarette Code. This rei--;,ement came into effect in 1975 and applies to all new and existirc'crands advertised in non-broadcast media. Publis"s-s and poster site owners will not accept any cigarette adverisemient unless it is accompanied by a stamped and numbered CAP certiflca:= of clearance. This proves that the advertisement has been Vetted.:Iftr to PU blication. U-1 CD N.) Uj I'L BATCo document for Legal Services : Health Canada 21 October 1999 3 Designs anc concepts are submitted for a view at an early stage so that work and expense are spared on unacceptable schemes. Approximately one quarter of the concepts submitted for pre-clearance are rejected following aszessment under the Code. In 1993, 607 copy concepts were submitted fc~ assessment. Not all go forward for publication but for those that did. 201 certificates were issued in 1993. 0 COMPLAINTS The ASA t=_als with complaints from the public and from those within the industry wl~3 wish to complain about their competitors' advertising. The independer-: Council of the ASA adjudicates upon whether to uphold complaints --and summaries of investigations are published in ASA's Monthly Report. T,-.-= Monthly Report is. circulated widely and provides a popular news scurcs for the media. Although Vte ASA receives a number of complaints against cigarette advertisements each year these frequently raise objections about smoking and adversing in general rather than the content of the advertisements. Such issues are not for the ASA to decide upon. (_n CD BATCo document for Legal Services : Health Canada 21 October 1999 4 Since each cigarette advertisement is assessed under the Code prior to publication, complaints rarely raise a point which has not already been considered. Public and industry opinions and views are however taken into account when assessing future campaigns. In total there were 110 complaints against tobacco advertising in 1993*, a proportion of these were about tobacco products not covered by the Code. Largely due to the nature of the clearance procedure only two advertisements raised complaint investigations: one complaint relating to a pipe tobacco was upheld and the other resulted in a published ASA statement. While there are a number of ill-directed complaints, some that we do not pursue nevertheless serve to inform us about the impact of advertisements on the public. This is one way we can pick up at an early stage readers' interpretations of advertisements which could cause problems. 40 V1 BATCo document for Legal Services : Health Canada 21 October 1999 5 CIGARETTE RULES As well as specific rules, the Cigarette Code includes guidance on how its requirements should be interpreted. As with every other part of the Codes of Practice, the Cigarette Code's rules are applied in the spirit as well as the letter. The essence of this Code is to ensure that cigarette advertisements do not encourage anyone to start smoking or persuade existing smokers to smoke more. Other requirements are as follows: 1. Youth Advertisements should not be designed. written or published in a way which would have a greater appeal to those under 18 than the general public. Characters and situations depicted should not appeal to young people in a way which could encourage emulation or admiration. 2. Health and Environment There should be no implication that smoking is healthy or free from any risk to health. For example outdoor settings should not convey any implications of health. Words such as 'safe, 'clean' and 'pure' for example are prohibited and 'cool' can only be used to describe actual taste - for example . cool tasting'. r,j ~14 ul BATCo document for Legal Services : Health Canada 21 October 1999 6 3. Social and Sexual Success Cigarette advertisements should not imply that smoking is associated with the rich, successful or fashionable. They should not claim or imply that smoking is a sign of manliness or that it enhances feminine charm. Nor should they imply a link between smoking and sexual success. The attractions of smoking should never be exaggerated in any way. 4. Relaxation and Concentration Advertisements should not depict situations involving nervous strain or emotional pressure in relation to smoking. Cigarettes should not be portrayed as contributing to concentration or relaxation. GENERAL AND SALES PROMOTION RULES Cigarette advertisements are also required to conform to the remainder of the rules in the Codes of Practice. Agencies are usually meticulous in their attention to these other rules but from time to time, they may propose an advertisement which is misleading or offensive and therefore fall foul of other requirements of BCAP. BATCo document for Legal Services : Health Canada 21 October 1999 7 The British Code of Sales Promobon Practice (SCSPP) also applies to cigarette advertising where promotional matedal is concerned. Any advertisement for cigarette promotions requires pre-publication certification and the promotion concept and text must comply with BCSPP as well as 13CAP and the Cigarette Code. THE FUTURE A review of the Codes has been underway since Summer 1993. Included in the review are the rules governing the content of cigarette advertisements. The Cigarette Code requires the agreement of the Department of Health as well as CAP and the tobacco manufacturers and is therefore an involved process. We are aiming for a new edition of the Code by the end of 1994. U1 C= BATCo document for Legal Services : Health Canada 21 October 1999 a ASA CONTACTS Direct telephone and fax lines to the Copy Advice Department ensure that agencies ge-' a quick response to.any enquiries. Copy Advice Mark Whitbread, Copy Advice Manager 071-580 4100 (direct line) 071-580 5555 (switchboard) 071-580 4072 (fax) 0 General Enc--dries- Patrick O'Dee Elizabeth Grose 071-580 5555 Comments c:,, Code Review: Linda Wheeler Secretary, Code Review Working Group 071-580 5555 0 U1 C) U4 U-I .4~.. UI BATCo document for Legal Services : Health Canada 21 October 1999