Translated material
Smoking blind
Deputies propose a complete ban on tobacco advertising in Russia
Children may soon be spared the contemplation of intrusive cigarette advertising , and smokers, when choosing brands, will be guided only by the opinions of friends: the State Duma intends to completely ban advertising of tobacco products. The first step towards this has already been taken. Yesterday, deputies passed in the first reading a bill banning advertising of tobacco (and alcohol) on all types of transport. A new draft law, introduced to the Duma the other day, envisages the introduction of a total ban on any advertising of cigarettes from July 1, 2009.The amendments to the advertising law adopted by deputies yesterday in the first reading introduce, in fact, only one change to the current procedure for placing tobacco advertising: it will not be possible to place it not only on transport, but also on transport infrastructure facilities. That is, in subway passages, train stations and airports. All other provisions of the law remain in force for now. Tobacco manufacturers can advertise their products in print media, with the exception of publications for minors, as well as the front and back pages and covers of magazines and newspapers. Outdoor advertising of cigarettes is prohibited, but indoors it can be done freely. The exceptions are children's, educational, medical, sports, military institutions, theaters, circuses, museums, exhibition halls, and libraries. The draft law on a complete ban on tobacco advertising, submitted to the Duma but not yet considered by the chamber, will in the future close the currently legal opportunities for advertising in print media and shopping centers. Today, in places where cigarettes are sold, it is allowed to conduct promotions for free distribution of products, when promotional staff directly contact smokers.
It is not yet clear how the authors of the bill on an unconditional ban on tobacco advertising intend to regulate other advertising mechanisms used by manufacturers. Among such mechanisms are electronic and direct mail distribution of audio and video products to adult smokers, Internet advertising, and advertising in mobile communication networks. As the authors of the bill assure, the ban should be total. The only exceptions may be places where cigarettes are sold. After all, these are the requirements of the World Health Organization (WHO) framework convention on tobacco control, which declares a complete ban on advertising, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products.
The State Duma plans to consider a bill on Russia's accession to the convention in April of this year. This explains the rush to develop a new bill. So far, the developers of the bill, including Deputy Vladimir Medinsky, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Health Protection Olga Borzova and First Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Health Protection Nikolai Gerasimenko, have not been able to come up with a radical way to limit tobacco advertising. For example, how to limit advertising in the currently unregulated virtual space of the Internet.
They may not succeed, and the totality of the ban, loudly declared by the authors of the document, will remain on paper. After all, the requirements of the WHO convention set, rather, the upper bar of requirements to which we must strive. And this level is unattainable even for countries that have long signed the convention.
“In practice, no country in the world (if we are talking about countries where the sale of tobacco products is allowed) has a comprehensive ban on advertising of tobacco products. Requirements for tobacco advertising are more or less close to the concept of a “complete ban” only in Thailand, Canada and Australia, where information about cigarette brands is limited even in retail outlets,” recalls the media relations manager at Philip Morris Sales and Marketing. Irina Bakhtina. “In world practice, as a rule, the ban on tobacco advertising applies to traditional means of communication - print media, radio, television, but at the same time, manufacturers still have channels for targeted communication with their adult consumers,” she explains.