Government Aims To Ban Tobacco Advertising

Labour says it will publish a draft bill initially that will be used to pave the way for an "effective ban on tobacco advertising during this session". There will also be a White Paper in the summer setting out a programme designed to reduce levels of smoking.

Health minister Tessa Jowell said the government intends to call together a team of experts to look at smoking reduction. She said the team would look at "all avenues which might be of practical value".

Ms Jowell then turned to the sponsorship of sporting events by tobacco companies: "We will need to look carefully at how to remove tobacco advertising from sporting events without carrying any risk to those events in the UK."

Health experts welcome the proposals but indicated that a total ban should follow. Dr Margaret Swain, assistant director of research at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, said than anything less would fall short of what was required: "Unless there is a complete ban on all forms of promotion, notably advertising and sponsorship, then we fear that the proposed measure as it stands may well be inadequate."

The British Medical Association also called on the government to tackle tobacco sponsorship. The Health Education Authority welcomed the government's announcement as "an encouraging step forward".

The Tobacco Manufacturers' Association, the body that represents the tobacco industry, said it was "disappointed" by the news. Clive Turner, the association's executive director, said he hoped to hold talks with the government before the policy was finalised.