National Council Commission wants to re-regulate tobacco advertising
The Federal Council wants to restrict tobacco advertising and provide better protection for children and young people in particular. The Committee for Social Security and Health of the National Council (SGK-N) agrees in principle.
It passed the bill by 18 votes to 4, as the parliamentary services announced on Friday. The commission will discuss the details of the law and the tobacco advertising initiative at one of its next meetings.
The Federal Council envisages a nationwide ban on tobacco sales to minors and a ban on advertising aimed specifically at minors. However, it wants to dispense with further advertising restrictions in the Federal Law on Tobacco Products and Electronic Cigarettes.
Council of States tightened law
The Council of States has already dealt with the draft and tightened the rules. It passed a law in September 2019 that provides for additional advertising bans on cigarettes in the press and on the internet (Werbewoche.ch reported). Sponsorship of international events is also to be banned. The small chamber thus took up various concerns of the popular initiative "Yes to protecting children and young people from tobacco advertising (children and young people without tobacco advertising)".
The position of the National Council's committee on these amendments will only become clear in a few weeks. A minority is proposing to refer the entire bill back to the Federal Council with the mandate to regulate alternative products such as e-cigarettes, tobacco products for heating and snus in a differentiated manner.
Second attempt
The Federal Council had already submitted proposals for increased protection of minors to parliament in 2015, but these failed. In 2016, the upper house of parliament voted to refer the bill back to the Federal Council.
Because the parliament will still be busy with the bill for a while, the SGK-N proposes by 19 votes to 2 with one abstention to extend the transitional regulation for tobacco products in the Food Act by four years. This is to prevent a legal loophole from arising until the new Tobacco Products Act comes into force. (SDA)
