Tobacco advertising
As tobacco advertising is advertising for tobacco products referred to. Tobacco advertising is subject to legal restrictions in many countries.
In addition to the legal regulations, numerous companies in the tobacco industry have also submitted to a voluntary commitment. Among other things, this includes the waiver of models who are or appear younger than 30 years of age. The regulations are apparently currently being revised and only extracts are available online on the website of the relevant German Cigarette Association (DZV) (formerly: Association of the Cigarette Industry (VdC)).
Despite these restrictions (in the 2009 season tobacco advertising was only allowed in 7 of the 17 Formula 1 races), Phillip Morris was the main sponsor of the Ferrari racing team until 2010 .
The tobacco industry also uses various marketing strategies that do not fall within the scope of traditional advertising. One speaks here of below-the-line marketing. This includes, for example, advertising at the point of sale in the form of eye-catching displays that are made available to specialist retailers or are attached to supermarket checkouts and cigarette machines, as well as the following examples.
Distributors are prohibited from distributing free cigarette samples, but manufacturers are not. For example, target group-specific events such as For example , free samples can be distributed in discos , festivals or on the university campus . People of legal age can also order sample packs over the Internet. However, access to this is often restricted by checking the age and place of residence via Schufa Holding AG . There are also competitions, the distribution of merchandise products, the organization of events, personal communication, e.g. B. via e-mails, the unobtrusive furnishing of the living environment of the target group ( ambient media ), flagship stores , brand transfer and product placement .
Situation in the European Union
Advertising for tobacco products is restricted to different degrees in the countries of the European Union. An EU directive (2003/33 / EG) has consistently banned tobacco advertising on the Internet, in newspapers and magazines since January 1, 2007. All member states except Germany have now introduced laws that prohibit tobacco advertising and sponsorship much more comprehensively.
Situation in Germany
Advertising for tobacco products is significantly less restricted in Germany than in all other EU countries, despite the obligation under the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control . In the tobacco control index of the European cancer leagues of 2019, Germany only achieved 4 in the area of advertising bans, but the remaining EU states between 7 and 13 out of a possible 13 points. On World No Tobacco Day 2013, the German Cancer Aid, in an alliance with the “Non-Smoking Action Alliance”, called on the legislature to “finally introduce a comprehensive ban on tobacco advertising”. In addition to medical professionals, supporters are health organizations such as: German Cancer Society , German Cancer Research Center Heidelberg, German Heart Foundation and others. a. The EU Health Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaits criticized the - in his opinion - lax anti-tobacco policy in Germany on the occasion of World No Tobacco Day 2015: "The Federal Republic is one of the EU states that do not have the political will to change the situation." Influential opponents of the tobacco advertising ban is CDU politician Volker Kauder .
In Germany, for example, advertising on the Internet, in radio and TV spots and in print media is currently completely prohibited, unless it is a trade magazine for the tobacco trade or for smokers. Sponsoring of events is possible under the condition of a limited local sphere of activity, i.e. as long as the events have no cross-border effect. Other EU countries also have significantly stricter regulations for regional events. Audiovisual media services or broadcasts may not be sponsored by tobacco manufacturers. The distribution of free cigarettes is also only possible to a limited extent. Although Germany ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) back in 2004, outdoor advertising in the form of posters and neon signs and cinema advertising is still allowed after 6 p.m.; in all other EU countries these types of advertising are also completely prohibited. The image advertising of tobacco companies, which is used on the Internet, is also permitted. For example, the manufacturers' websites offer the possibility of objective communication of the company philosophy and corporate social responsibility efforts. Some of these company websites are preceded by an age and smoking status query.
The details of the advertising ban are regulated in Directive 2003/33 / EC and Sections 19 to 21 of the Tobacco Products Act (TabakerzG).
Both regulations apply side by side and partially overlap. There are also supplementary regulations such as the German Tobacco Product Ordinance, which further specifies the provisions of the Tobacco Products Act.
On December 10, 2018, a public expert discussion on the introduction of a comprehensive tobacco advertising ban took place in the German Bundestag , at which the majority of the experts spoke out in favor of such an advertising ban. The Federal Institute for Risk Assessment was u. a. submitted that the smoking rate in Germany is much higher than in other comparable countries and that toxicologically the cigarette is the riskiest tobacco product. Approx. 120,000 deaths annually in Germany are mainly due to smoking cigarettes. For the German Cancer Research Center , tobacco consumption is the greatest preventable cancer risk of our time. In Germany alone, a total of 85,000 new cancer cases - that is one in five cases of cancer - can be attributed to smoking. An advertising ban is necessary because there is a causality between tobacco advertising and increased tobacco consumption.
Demands of the German Cancer Aid 2019
In the controversy over tobacco consumption in the spring of 2019, the German Cancer Aid called for a comprehensive tobacco advertising ban and a drastic increase in tobacco tax in Germany. Krebshilfe CEO Gerd Nettekoven appealed to politicians to finally take these important steps in the fight against cancer. “Germany is indeed the shameful bottom of the league when it comes to tobacco advertising bans in Europe,” said Nettekoven. He expressed his solidarity with the President of the German Medical Association , Frank Ulrich Montgomery , that he would also include e-cigarettes and tobacco heaters in the planned advertising ban. There should be no compromise on this issue. The German Medical Association, Cancer Aid and the non-smoking action alliance agree on this. Especially young people and non-smokers could become addicted to nicotine through these products. According to current surveys, tobacco-related costs amount to at least 80 billion euros a year nationwide: 25.4 billion euros would arise for the health system, 53.7 billion euros should be estimated for production losses and early retirement.
Historical development
- Commercials for cigarettes and tobacco products have been banned on radio and television since 1975 .
- Sponsorship of radio and television programs by cigarette manufacturers has been prohibited since August 1, 1999 by an interstate broadcasting treaty.
- Tobacco advertising in cinemas before 6 p.m. has been prohibited by the Youth Protection Act since July 23, 2002.
- Free distribution of cigarettes and cigarette packs with fewer than 17 cigarettes has been prohibited since July 23, 2004 by the "Law to improve the protection of young people from the dangers of alcohol and tobacco consumption".
- Sponsorship of cross-border events by cigarette manufacturers has also been prohibited since January 1, 2007.
- An initiative by the drug commissioner MdB Marlene Mortler (CSU) to tighten the tobacco advertising ban in 2014 failed.
- At the end of 2016, the German Cancer Aid Foundation publicly criticized the federal government and parliament for the first time for not having brought about a “complete ban on tobacco advertising” in Germany. According to the latest figures from the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin, one consequence is the annual increase in lung cancer rates among women, said the cancer aid organization.
- An initiative to tighten the advertising ban failed again in the German Bundestag in 2016/17. Although the federal cabinet had already passed a draft law in 2016 for a ban on outdoor advertising from 2020, the Union parliamentary group then opposed a vote in plenary at the instigation of its economic wing "out of concern for the industry concerned" . The then parliamentary group chairman, Volker Kauder , announced that he would no longer allow the bill to be read until the end of the 18th legislative period in autumn 2017 . Critics blame the high influence of the tobacco lobby in parts of the CDU / CSU parliamentary group.
- An initiative to tighten the advertising ban was successful in the German Bundestag at the beginning of July 2020, but has yet to be approved by the Bundesrat. Accordingly, there will be an outdoor advertising ban for conventional tobacco products from January 1, 2022. From January 1, 2021, tobacco advertising will only be allowed when showing films for films over the age of 18 and free samples may only be given in specialist shops.
Packaging unit ( Plain packaging )
The cigarette pack is also to be regarded as an active means of communication and advertising, which is why some countries have now introduced unadorned boxes without brand logos, known as "plain packaging".
Individual evidence
- ↑ see German Cigarette Association (DZV)
- ↑ Süddeutsche Zeitung, January 13, 2007: dedicated line to Schumacher.
- ↑ Tobacco advertising on the dump. In: Tagesschau. Retrieved July 23, 2019 .
- ↑ The Tobacco Control Scale 2019 in Europe (scale on pages 12 and 26)
- ^ Press conference on WHO World No Tobacco Day , Berlin, May 29, 2013.
- ↑ German fight against tobacco consumption too lax . In: Ärzte Zeitung , May 29, 2015.
- ↑ Dispute over tobacco advertising ban - Smoke more beautifully on German advertising pillars , Claus Hecking, Spiegel Online, March 7, 2017
- ↑ Saarbrücker Zeitung: SPD attacks Union for blocking the tobacco advertising ban. Retrieved February 17, 2017 .
- ↑ Hinnerk Feldwisch-Drentrup, editor DAZ.online: Union shakes the planned tobacco advertising ban . In: DAZ.online . July 12, 2016 ( deutsche-apotheker-zeitung.de [accessed February 17, 2017]).
- ↑ § 19 ff. Tobacco Products Act (July 9, 2019)
- ↑ DKFZ: Tobacco Advertising and Sponsoring - Situation in Germany and Europe
- ^ Changes to the Provisional Tobacco Act
- ↑ Directive 2003/33 / EC
- ↑ Tobacco Products Ordinance - TabakerzV
- ↑ Bundestag.de: Majority of experts for tobacco advertising ban
- ↑ https://www.noz.de/deutschland-welt/politik/artikel/1718024/deutsche-krebshilfe-tababsteuern-kontinulich-erhoehen , accessed on May 6, 2019
- ↑ Augsburger Allgemeine of June 18, 2009, column “The Date”.
- ↑ Federal Drug Commissioner for the Ban on Tobacco Advertising . In: Die Zeit , June 29, 2014. "" I would like to have intensive discussions with the federal government about this this year, "Mortler told the dpa news agency in Berlin."
- ↑ Press release for the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung of November 30, 2016
- ↑ Bundestag tightens ban on tobacco advertising. In: tagesschau.de. July 3, 2020, accessed August 29, 2020 .