TOBACCO COUNCIL RE-THINKING AD RULES
By Adnews Staff
The tobacco industry says it is going to plug some loopholes - but not all - in its self-governing code that is basically aimed at stopping the promotion of cigarettes to young people. This was the response of the Canadian Tobacco Manufacturers' Council (CTMC) last week to a report upholding certain complaints about tobacco advertising from the Canadian Cancer Society. The report came from the Tobacco Advertising Supervisory Committee, a now-inactive body that was set up to make sure tobacco companies comply with their own advertising code instituted late last year. (The Canadian Advertising Foundation has taken over that job of vetting tobacco ads). The Cancer Society complained about cigarette advertising inside stores near schools, contravening the code's ban on tobacco ads within 200 meters of school entrances. That rule was only intended to apply to outdoor ads, replied the CMTC. Therefore it is amending the rule to specify outdoor ads, effectively exempting in-store ads from the prohibition. But the council will ask storekeepers to make posters face inwards so they can't be seen from outside the store. Furthermore, says the CMTC, "sponsorship" billboards are exempt from the 200-meter rule. Such boards show a cigarette brand's logo and name while identifying a sporting or cultural event sponsored by that brand. The Cancer Society complained about one such board in Ottawa but the supervisory committee did not uphold the complaint. The CMTC said it will tighten up the rules to prohibit ads showing people as part of a brand trademark, even thought the supervisory committee rejected complaints about this related to Export A, Player's, Cameo and Sportsman cigarettes. The code prohibits depicting people in tobacco ads. In response to other Cancer Society complaints, the CMTC said it will require health warnings to be placed on ads that are part of shelf displays. It will also tighten up its rules to make it harder to obscure the health warnings on packages when they are displayed in stores.