Last updated: August 20, 2024
Key Terms
Tobacco Sponsorship
Having no definition for this key term makes interpretation of many provisions difficult. This can hamper application and implementation of FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines.
A definition of “tobacco sponsorship” should be provided in accordance with FCTC Art. 1(g).
Any form of contribution to any event, activity, or individual with the aim, effect or likely effect of promoting a tobacco product or tobacco use directly or indirectly. (FCTC Art. 1(g))
Tobacco Advertising and Promotion
Advertising of smoking product derived from tobacco: display and any form of dissemination, whether by electronic means, including the Internet, in print, or any other form of communication to the public, whether a consumer of the products or not, with the purpose of promoting, disseminating, spreading, persuading, selling or encouraging the use of the smoking product derived from tobacco, directly or indirectly, carried out by the company responsible for the product or another company hired by it, including:
a) dissemination of catalogs or displays of tobacco products, both in print and electronically;
b) dissemination of the brand name and brand elements of a tobacco product or the company manufacturing different tobacco products;
c) combination of the brand name and brand elements of the product or of the company manufacturing the brand names of different tobacco products, names of other companies or of commercial establishments; and
d) any other form of communication or action that promotes tobacco products, attracting the attention and interest of the public, whether a consumer of the products or not, and that may stimulate use or start of use.
The law defines the term “advertising for smoking products derived from tobacco” to include any kind of communication, including display, for the purpose of promoting tobacco products or tobacco use. The substantive provisions also state that “any kind of communication, recommendation or commercial action with the objective, effect or likely effect of promoting, directly or indirectly, a tobacco product or its use” is to be considered advertising. Taken together, these provisions align with the definition of “tobacco advertising and promotion” provided in FCTC Art. 1(c).
Any form of commercial communication, recommendation, or action with the aim, effect or likely effect of promoting a tobacco product or tobacco use either directly or indirectly. (FCTC Art. 1(c))
Tobacco Product
Smoking product: a manufactured product, whether it is a tobacco derivative or not, that uses leaves or extracts of leaves or other parts of plants in its composition, that is intended to be smoked, chewed or inhaled.
Tobacco derivative: any product manufactured for consumption that uses in its composition tobacco leaves, intended for smoking, inhalation or chewing, even if it is only partially composed of tobacco.
The definition of “smoking product” aligns with and is broader than the FCTC definition in that it does not require tobacco leaf as a component, making the APS ban applicable to such products as e-cigarettes (assuming the nicotine in the e-cigarettes on the market is extracted from tobacco). Similar definitions are provided in Resolution No. 213 of January 23, 2018.
Any product entirely or partly made of the leaf tobacco as a raw material which is manufactured to be used for smoking, sucking, chewing, or snuffing. (FCTC Art. 1(f))
Place of Sale
Place of sale: an area or fixed space physically set apart, located on the inside of a commercial establishment and intended for the display and sale of smoking products, whether or not they are tobacco derivatives.
The definition of “place of sale” is relevant for purposes of restrictions on the display of tobacco products at points of sale. A similar definition is provided in Resolution No. 558 of 2021.
