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Auntie starts them young…

The BBC is being used by tobacco companies to promote cigarette sales, according to a new report by the Health Education Authority.

The report, Beating the Ban, examines the working of the 1987 voluntary agreement between the UK tobacco industry and the government, which regulates television coverage of tobacco sponsored sports events by the BBC. ITV companies have not covered such events since 1987, and direct cigarette advertising on television was banned in 1965.

The HEA report produces detailed evidence of breaches of the voluntary agreement since 1987, including the broadcasting of tobacco company signs at snooker and bowls events, and brands names and symbols at motor racing events. The result is free airtime exposure of tobacco products equivalent to thousands of pounds worth of advertising.

It concludes that ‘BBC TV coverage of tobacco sponsored sport appears to be in breach of the letter or the spirit of the 1987 voluntary agreement’.

’64% of children aged between nine and fifteen claim to see cigarette advertising on TV’, according to Sir Donald Maitland, chair of the HEA. ‘What they are seeing are sporting events sponsored by tobacco companies.’

The author of the report, John Roberts, pointed out that the agreement has no statutory force, and in any case has ‘large loopholes’.

’My personal view is that all tobacco advertising and promotion should be banned’, Dr Roberts told healthmatters. ‘Cigarettes are a product so dangerous that no government should allow their promotion.’

’There is, at the moment, no systematic monitoring going on. It would be well within the powers and budget of the HEA to do this. Without it, we can’t challenge what is going on’, he said.

A very positive approach to the issue is being taken by Parents against Tobacco (PAT), the pressure group responsible for the private member’s bill currently going through the House of Commons which is designed to strengthen the law prohibiting tobacco sales to children.

Jane Dunmore, director of PAT, told healthmatters: ‘PAT and the Health Care Foundation are building a programme to replace tobacco sponsorship of sports events. Our aim is to create a pool of alternative funding, in preference to tobacco sponsorship.’

So far some 16 companies have been asked to commit themselves to the scheme, and PAT hopes to launch the sponsorship fund later in the year.