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Swiss parliament moves closer to partial ban of tobacco ads

National Council moves closer to small chamber on tobacco advertising ban
National Council moves closer to small chamber on tobacco advertising ban Keystone-SDA

Tobacco advertising should be partially banned in the print media. After rejecting the initiative for the first time, on Monday the House of Representatives gave the go-ahead for restrictions on advertising, with some relaxations.

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In 2022, 56.6% of the electorate approved the “Children and young people without tobacco advertising” initiative, which calls for “all forms of tobacco advertising accessible to children to be banned”. The government’s revision of the law gives concrete form to this text. It targets the print media, events open to young people and sponsorship.

On Monday, the House of Representatives endorsed certain relaxations decided by the senators and also approved others. For example, they decided that advertising would be banned in the print media unless it is in the inside section of newspapers sold mainly by subscription and whose readership consists of at least 98% adults.

Tobacco advertising will be banned in places accessible to minors.

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However, following the lead of the senators, the House of Representatives decided that tobacco advertising should be permitted provided that it is neither visible nor accessible to minors.

The left argued in favour of the government’s more restrictive version. “Switzerland is the only European country that has not banned tobacco advertising in the press,” pointed out Léonore Porchet from the Greens, to no avail.

Discussions then continued on the provisions relating to sponsorship. They were interrupted early and will resume next week.

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