Current status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 12 July 1999
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to seek evidence from other countries as to the effect which bans on tobacco advertising and sponsorship have on tobacco consumption.
The Scottish Executive has carefully considered the evidence which exists from other countries on the effect of bans on tobacco advertising and sponsorship on tobacco consumption. Such evidence was assessed in the 1992 Department of Health (Economic and Operational Research Division) publication 'Effect of Tobacco Advertising on Tobacco Evidence:A Discussion Document Reviewing The Evidence'. The evidence from countries which had introduced bans indicated a significant effect. In each case, the banning of advertising was followed by a fall in smoking on a scale which could not reasonably be attributed to other anti-smoking measures in operation in these countries such as increased health education and tighter restrictions on sales of tobacco to young people.