Jowell: Urging restraint on tobacco ban

Britain Holds Back on EU Ban on Tobacco Ads

The Public Health Minister Tessa Jowell told her European counterparts at a meeting in Luxembourg that the Government "shared the broad objectives" of the measure but wanted to study the details.

The EU Social Affairs Commissioner Padraig Flynn had hoped for an immediate declaration of support to unblock the directive, which has been stalled since 1991.

It would ban all tobacco advertising except at point of sale, including indirect advertising linking brand names to products like Marlboro clothing or Camel boots.

"There are unresolved legal questions about its scope, as well as practical issues, such as the impact on sports if it is agreed that a directive should extend to sports sponsorship by tobacco companies," said Mrs Jowell.

"The UK Government is working up plans to remove advertising and promotion of tobacco in a way that does not damage those sports," she added.

Mrs Jowell said they would be studying these issues with Luxembourg, which takes over the EU Presidency next month, indicating that no action is likely before the next meeting of health ministers in six months.

Under the Tories, Britain joined forces with Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands and Greece to block the draft directive. But a change in stance by the Labour Government would almost certainly give it a sufficient majority to go through.

At the meeting of EU health ministers in Luxembourg, Mrs Jowell invited her counterparts to attend the Government's tobacco summit next month. It will bring together national and international experts to study ways of cutting smoking and controlling tobacco consumption, paving the way for the forthcoming White Paper on smoking.

"We would be happy to share with our European partners ideas on tackling smoking in the light of the findings of our summit and to discuss the scope for action at Community level and improved co-operation among member states," said Mrs Jowell.

"The UK Government is determined to tackle the problem of smoking with the seriousness and determination it merits," she continued.

"That is why we are committed to banning tobacco advertising as an essential first step in building an effective strategy to deal with smoking. However, smoking is too complex an issue and too serious a threat to health for us to rely on a single measure," she said.

A ban on tobacco advertising would hit sporting organisations, including Formula One motor-racing. Senior racing figures have threatened to cut the number of races staged in Europe from the present 12 to four in response to a ban.

Formula One gains more than £100 million in tobacco sponsorship each year.