Cigarettes and Tobacco

On 14 February 2003 The Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002 came into force, prohibiting the advertising of tobacco products. It does not, however, cover advertisements of rolling papers or filters and does permit certain tobacco advertising at point of sale. Self-regulatory rules and procedures for these categories are under review and will be published on the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) website - www.cap.org.uk - when finalised.

Before the ban on tobacco advertising, strict rules applied to the advertising for tobacco products. The Cigarette Code was exceptional in that it was the outcome of discussions between the Department of Health, the manufacturers and importers of cigarettes and the ASA. It ran in parallel with, and its rules were applied in addition to, those imposed elsewhere in the British Codes of Advertising and Sales Promotion (now known as the British Code of Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing). All tobacco advertisements had to be pre-approved by the CAP Copy Advice team before publication.

The rules for tobacco advertisements were drawn up by the tobacco manufacturers, the Department of Health and the Advertising Standards Authority as part of the voluntary agreements that regulated the promotion of cigarettes and other forms of tobacco. The rules formed a special section of the British Codes of Advertising and Sales Promotion generally known as the Cigarette Code.

THE ASA'S ROLE

The Authority's responsibility was to act as the arbiter of the Code's rules and to supervise a pre-clearance procedure under which all cigarette advertisements were scrutinised and certified as acceptable before they were published. The ASA supervised only the content of the advertisements. The health warnings and controls on their location as well as sponsorship were covered by other voluntary agreements outside the Authority's scope.

THE CIGARETTE CODE

The essence of the Code was that advertisements were not to encourage people to start smoking nor were they to entice smokers to smoke more or to excess.

As with every other part of the Codes, the Cigarette Code's rules were applied in the spirit as well as the letter. Broadly, they included the following requirements:

Youth: Advertisements were not to be designed or presented in a way which had a greater appeal to those under 18 than to the general public. Anyone shown smoking was required to be clearly over the age of twenty-five. Advertisements were not to play on the susceptibilities of the immature or vulnerable nor were they to feature heroic, cult or fashionable figures in a way that might appeal to the young. In the 1995 edition of the Codes, the rules were tightened to prohibit humour being used to attract young people.

Health, context and environment: Advertisements were not to suggest that smoking was safe, popular, natural, healthy or necessary for relaxation and concentration. Cigarettes were not to be shown in the mouth and smoking was not be associated with healthy eating or a wholesome life-style.

Social success: Advertisements were not to link smoking with people who were evidently wealthy, successful or fashionable or who possessed other qualities that might command admiration or encourage emulation. They were not to claim or imply that smoking was a sign of masculinity or that it enhanced feminine charm. Nor were they to imply a link between smoking and social, sexual, romantic or business success. The attractions of smoking were not to be exaggerated.

Promotions: Advertisements for coupon brands were not to feature products unless those products could be obtained through the redemption of coupons collected over a reasonable period of average consumption.

THE PRE-CLEARANCE PROCEDURE

No cigarette or hand-rolling tobacco advertisement appeared unless it had demonstrated that it conformed to the rules in the Cigarette Code. That requirement was introduced in 1975 and applied to all brands advertised in non-broadcast media.

Publishers and poster site owners would not accept any cigarette advertisement unless it was accompanied by a stamped and numbered certificate of clearance, which proved that the advertisement had been vetted prior to publication. Designs and concepts were submitted for a view at an early stage so that work and expense were spared on unacceptable schemes.

COMPLAINTS

Although the ASA received a small number of complaints each year about cigarette advertising, these frequently raised objections about smoking rather than the content of advertisements.

Since each cigarette advertisement was assessed under the Code prior to publication, complaints rarely raised a point which had not already been considered. However, the opinions voiced were taken into account in assessing future campaigns. 2002 saw 24 complaints about tobacco advertising, none of which were upheld. This compares with 25 complaints in 2001: only two of which were upheld.