Tobacco Advertising - Advertisement Control

Advertisement Control

The European Union and World Health Organization (WHO) have both specified that the advertising of tobacco should not be allowed. The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which came into effect on 27 February 2005, requires that all of the 168 countries that agreed to the treaty ban tobacco advertising unless their constitution forbade it.

Some countries also impose legal requirements on the packaging of tobacco products. For example, in the countries of the European Union, Turkey, Australia and South Africa, cigarette packs must be prominently labeled with the health risks associated with smoking. Canada, Australia, Thailand, Iceland, Mexico, Brazil and some EU countries have also imposed labels upon cigarette packs warning smokers of the effects, and they include graphic images of the potential health effects of smoking. In Canada, cards are also inserted into cigarette packs, explaining reasons not to smoke and different methods of quitting smoking.