Tobacco advertising ban

With reference to Ivan Camilleri's report from Brussels (The Sunday Times, July 31) on the coming into effect of the tobacco advertising ban in the EU in relation to a ban on tobacco sponsorship, adverts in newspapers, on radio and the Internet, it is pertinent to point out the following facts about Maltese legislation on tobacco control:

1. adverts in newspapers and magazines were banned in 2003 (Revised Cap 315 - Tobacco control Act);

2. adverts on the Internet were also banned in 2003 (- do -);

3. radio adverts have been banned since 1986 (Cap. 315 Tobacco Control Act 1986).

The July 31 EU Directive on Tobacco advertising exempts cinema and billboard adverts for the time being. In Malta cinema advertising bans came into effect as early as 1987 and billboard advertising is soon to be banned, in addition to other means of tobacco promotion, including lotteries, gift exchange schemes, etc.

In Malta tobacco control is taken very seriously and the warnings issued by the Commission to countries who failed to transpose the directive into national legislation, as mentioned by Mr Camilleri, do not apply. Furthermore, we support Commissioner Markos Kyprianou's condemnation of tobacco advertising to the point that we run ongoing, effective media counter-advertising campaigns as an interim measure before a total ban on all forms of tobacco promotion comes in place.