According to the Federal Council, there should be no further tobacco advertising bans

Following the rejection of an initial bill in 2016, the Federal Council on Friday approved a revised dispatch for a tobacco products law and referred it to parliament. The 2016 bill failed in parliament due to the planned restrictions on advertising, sales promotion and sponsorship. The civil parties spoke of an "attack on the free market economy" and "paternalism".

Actually, the Federal Council wanted to take certain advertising restrictions into account in the new attempt. For example, tobacco products could no longer be advertised on the Internet or in free newspapers. At points of sale, too, the corresponding advertisements could no longer have been placed in the immediate vicinity of sweets, for example - products that appeal particularly to children and young people.

However, the Federal Council refrains from these extensions of the advertising restrictions - today, tobacco advertising on radio and television is prohibited, as well as if it is explicitly directed at minors - and thus follows the course of the civil society and the business associations.

Parliament to correct decision

The "Tobacco Advertising No" alliance - consisting of 87 organizations from all over Switzerland - harshly criticizes the decision of the Federal Council. The new Tobacco Products Act fails on key points in protecting children and young people, it said in a statement Friday. The "despondent" proposal lacks significant improvements to protect said age groups "from the marketing of tobacco companies." The alliance, which includes the Cancer League, the Lung League and various doctors' associations, is calling on parliament to "correct the self-inflicted damage in the draft law." They say they will remind the members of the National Council and the Council of States of this task in the coming weeks.

Majority of the population against tobacco advertising

Specifically, it calls for a complete ban on advertising for tobacco products, covering print media, the Internet including social media, posters, cinemas and points of sale. Furthermore, there should no longer be any sales promotion by giving away tobacco products for free, as is done by hostesses in clubs or by discount campaigns in the style of 3 for 2. Finally, tobacco companies should no longer be allowed to sponsor public and private events. The alliance is citing the will of the people: 58 percent of the population would support a general ban on tobacco advertising.

Voters have the last word

If the parliament does not take countermeasures and approves the Federal Council's proposal, the electorate could once again have the final say. In response to the rejection of the first bill and the new proposal for a Tobacco Products Act, health organizations launched the popular initiative "Yes to protecting children and young people from tobacco advertising" in spring 2018. The goal of the initiators is to ensure that children and adolescents are no longer exposed to tobacco advertising on billboards in public spaces in the future. According to the initiators, cinema advertising, advertisements, festival sponsoring and online advertising for tobacco should also be banned in the future. (hae)