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Public support for a ban on tobacco advertising

The anti-smoking coalition ASH has called on the government to introduce a total ban on cigarette advertising, following the release of figures that show strong public support for such a move.

The figures, published quietly by the Health Education Authority as part of a national Health and Lifestyles Survey, indicate that 76 per cent of adults now favour a complete ban on cigarette advertising.

More than 5000 people aged 16-74 took part in the survey in 390 sampling points throughout the UK.

Karen Williams, campaign manager for ASH, said: ‘It’s time the government listened to what people want.

‘The vast majority of the public support a ban, the entire health profession supports a ban, and the majority of MPs are in favour of a ban.’

The last attempt made in Parliament to introduce an advertising ban, the 1994 Barron Bill, was talked out by backbench Tory MPs. But leaked government documents indicated that the cabinet was badly split over whether to introduce a ban or continue with the government’s ‘voluntary agreement’ with the tobacco companies.

In 1995, treasury coffers were swelled by the addition of £8bn of tobacco tax revenue.

The most recent progress report on the government’s Health of the Nation strategy shows, however, that it is falling far short of its targets for reducing teenage smoking.

The strategy aimed to reduce smoking rates among 11-15 year olds from 8 per cent in 1988 to 6 per cent in 1994. Last year the Department of Health announced that in 1994 the rate of smoking among girls was 13 per cent and among boys was 10 per cent.

Health secretary Stephen Dorrell said then that banning tobacco advertising was not a ‘legitimate stance’ for the government to take. The most effective thing was to continue to increase prices, he said.

Other countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Finland, Singapore, Iceland and France, already operate bans on tobacco advertising.

New Zealand’s shadow secretary of state for health, Leanne Dalziel, on a recent trip to the UK told healthmatters that the ban in New Zealand, including a ban on sports sponsorship, had had a major impact. Sponsorship was used by tobacco companies ‘to get their key audience - young people’, she said.

Clive Smee, a former chief economic adviser to the Conservative government published a report in 1992, which indicated that countries with stronger controls on tobacco advertising had lower consumption rates. He concluded that if a ban were introduced in the UK it could lead to a drop in consumption of 4-9 per cent.

Health and Lifestyles: a survey of the UK population, part 1, from the Health Education Authority, Hamilton House, Mabledon place, London WC1H 9TX. £15.00. The report also contains sections on general health concerns; primary care health services; psychosocial health; smoking behaviour; passive smoking and smoking policies; cancer; and sexual health.