Iceland

The law prohibits all forms of advertising of tobacco and smoking accessories in Iceland. “Advertising” is broadly defined to include “any form of information addressed to the public or to a specified target group”. Therefore, tobacco advertising on domestic TV and radio is prohibited.

The law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to tobacco advertising on domestic TV and radio.

The law prohibits all forms of advertising of tobacco and smoking accessories in Iceland. “Advertising” is broadly defined to include “any form of information addressed to the public or to a specified target group.” Therefore, tobacco advertising in domestic newspapers and magazines is prohibited.

The law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to tobacco advertising in domestic newspapers and magazines.

The law prohibits all forms of advertising of tobacco and smoking accessories in Iceland. “Advertising” is broadly defined to include “any form of information addressed to the public or to a specified target group.” Therefore, tobacco advertising in domestic print media such as pamphlets, leaflets, flyers, posters and signs is prohibited.

The law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to tobacco advertising in domestic print media.

The law prohibits all forms of advertising of tobacco and smoking accessories in Iceland. However, because the law does not explicitly state that the ban applies to cross-border or international media, it is uncertain whether the ban applies to international TV and radio. Therefore, the regulatory status code “Uncertain” is assigned.

To align with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines, the law should make clear that tobacco advertising and promotion via international TV and radio is prohibited.

The law prohibits all forms of advertising of tobacco and smoking accessories in Iceland. “Advertising” is broadly defined to include “any form of information addressed to the public or to a specified target group.” However, the law explicitly exempts from the ban “advertisements in publications printed and published outside the European Economic Area, provided that they are primarily intended for distribution outside the area, and that their primary purpose is not the advertising of such products”. Because some international magazines and newspapers are exempt from the ban, the regulatory status code “Some Restrictions” is given.

Because the law restricts the importation of international newspapers and magazines that contain tobacco advertising, the law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines para. 52, which states that “Parties should make use of their sovereign right to take effective actions to limit or prevent any cross-border tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship entering their territory.” However, to fully align with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines, the law should contain provisions to ban tobacco advertising in all international newspapers and magazines, regardless of the country of origin and principal target market.

The law prohibits all forms of advertising of tobacco and smoking accessories in Iceland. “Advertising” is broadly defined to include “any form of information addressed to the public or to a specified target group.” Therefore, tobacco advertising via internet communications is prohibited.

The law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to tobacco advertising via internet communications.

The law prohibits all forms of advertising of tobacco and smoking accessories in Iceland. “Advertising” is broadly defined to include “any form of information addressed to the public or to a specified target group, including . . . signs of any kind and comparable items . . .” Therefore, outdoor tobacco advertising is prohibited.

The law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to outdoor advertising.

The law prohibits all forms of advertising of tobacco and smoking accessories in Iceland. The regulations further specify that this prohibit applies to point of sale advertising.

The law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to point of sale advertising and promotion.

The law prohibits the display and visibility of tobacco products at retail points of sale. However, the law provides an exemption for specialist tobacco shops, which may display tobacco products in such a way that they are visible inside the shop but not from outside the shop.

To align with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines, the law should prohibit all tobacco product display at all points of sale, including at specialist tobacco shops.

The law prohibits all forms of advertising of tobacco and smoking accessories in Iceland. “Advertising” is broadly defined to include “any form of information addressed to the public or to a specified target group.” Therefore, tobacco advertising by conventional mail is prohibited.

The law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to tobacco advertising by conventional mail.

The law prohibits all forms of advertising of tobacco and smoking accessories in Iceland. “Advertising” is broadly defined to include “any form of information addressed to the public or to a specified target group.” Therefore, tobacco advertising by telephone and mobile phone is prohibited.

The law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to tobacco advertising by telephone or mobile phone.

The law prohibits all forms of advertising of tobacco and smoking accessories in Iceland. “Advertising” is broadly defined to include, among other things, “any form of information addressed to the public or to a specified target group, including . . . signs of any kind and comparable items” and “all use of traditional tobacco trademarks (name and logo) or parts of them.” This is interpreted as prohibiting any brand marking of structures, vehicles or equipment with words, designs, images, logos or colors.

The law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to brand marking.

The law prohibits all forms of advertising of tobacco and smoking accessories in Iceland. “Advertising” is broadly defined to include, among other things, the distribution of samples of goods to consumers. Therefore, the free distribution of tobacco products is prohibited.

The law aligns with FCTC Art. 13, the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines, and FCTC Art. 16 with respect to the free distribution of tobacco products.

The law prohibits all forms of advertising of tobacco and smoking accessories in Iceland. “Advertising” is broadly defined to include, among other things, “any form of information addressed to the public or to a specified target group, including product promotions.” This is interpreted as prohibiting all promotional discounts, gifts, prizes, and rewards to consumers in conjunction with a tobacco product purchase.

The law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to promotional discounts, gifts, prizes and rewards to consumers.

Competitions associated with tobacco products or brand names are prohibited under the ban on advertising and the ban on sponsorship. Specifically, under the ban on advertising, the law prohibits “any form of information addressed to the public or to a specified target group,” “all use of traditional tobacco trademarks (name and logo) or parts of them,” and “any form of media coverage of individual products for other purposes than to warn of their harmful effects.” All these provisions can be used to prohibit the advertising of competitions associated with tobacco products. In addition, the law prohibits “any form of contribution to an event or activity whose objective, or direct or indirect effect, is to promote tobacco.” This provision also could be applied to prohibit competitions associated with tobacco products if any form of contribution by the tobacco industry is involved.

The law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to competitions associated with tobacco products.

The law prohibits all forms of advertising of tobacco and smoking accessories in Iceland. “Advertising” is broadly defined to include, among other things, “any form of information addressed to the public or to a specified target group.” This provision is interpreted as prohibiting direct person-to-person marketing to individuals.

The law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to person-to-person marketing to individuals.

The law prohibits all forms of advertising of tobacco and smoking accessories in Iceland. “Advertising” is broadly defined to include, among other things, “any form of information addressed to the public or to a specified target group, including . . . signs of any kind and comparable items” and “all use of traditional tobacco trademarks (name and logo) or parts of them.” This provision is interpreted as prohibiting brand stretching on non-tobacco products.

The law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to brand stretching.

The law prohibits placing “tobacco on the Icelandic market under trademarks that are known or used as trademarks for other goods or services.” Therefore, reverse brand stretching is prohibited.

The law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to reverse brand stretching.

The law prohibits the import, manufacture or sale of toys or confectionery that is made to resemble cigarettes, cigars or pipes.

The law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to toys and candy that resemble tobacco products.

The law prohibits the import, manufacture or sale of toys or confectionery that is made to resemble cigarettes, cigars or pipes.

The law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to toys and candy that resemble tobacco products.

The law does not specifically address retailer incentive programs. The ban on “advertising” applies to information addressed to the public, and the law specifically exempts from the ban information distributed to retailers. Therefore the ban on advertising is interpreted as not applying to the retailer incentive programs, and the law is interpreted as allowing retailer incentive programs.

To align with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines, the law should make clear that retailer incentive programs are prohibited.

The law prohibits all forms of advertising of tobacco and smoking accessories in Iceland. “Advertising” is broadly defined to include, among other things, “any form of information addressed to the public or to a specified target group,” “all use of traditional tobacco trademarks (name and logo) or parts of them,” and “any form of media coverage of individual products for other purposes than to warn of their harmful effects.” This definition is interpreted as encompassing paid placement, and therefore paid placement of tobacco products in TV, film and other media is prohibited.

The law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to paid placement of tobacco products in TV, film and other media.

The law prohibits all forms of advertising of tobacco and smoking accessories in Iceland. “Advertising” is broadly defined to include, among other things, “all use of traditional tobacco trademarks (name and logo) or parts of them,” and “any form of media coverage of individual products for other purposes than to warn of their harmful effects.” This definition is interpreted as encompassing unpaid depiction of tobacco products but not unpaid depiction of tobacco use. Therefore, the regulatory status “Some Restrictions” is assigned.

To align with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines, the law should address unpaid depiction of tobacco products in TV, film and other media in accordance with FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines paras. 29-32.

The law prohibits “any form of contribution to an event or activity whose objective, or direct or indirect effect, is to promote tobacco.” The law does not appear to prohibit contributions to individuals, organizations, or governments to promote tobacco.

To align with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines, the law should also prohibit all contributions to activities, individuals, organizations, or governments that have the aim, effect, or likely effect of promoting tobacco products or tobacco use directly or indirectly.

The law prohibits “any form of contribution to an event or activity whose objective, or direct or indirect effect, is to promote tobacco,” so there can be no publicity of such sponsorship. The law does not appear to prohibit contributions to individuals, organizations, or governments to promote tobacco, nor does it explicitly allow or prohibit publicity of such contributions. However, the law generally prohibits all tobacco advertising, which would include publicity of tobacco sponsorships to individuals or organizations.

The law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to publicity of tobacco sponsorship. For better clarity, the law should prohibit all tobacco sponsorship and publicity thereof.

The law prohibits the use on tobacco packaging of texts, names, trademarks and figurative or other signs suggesting that the product is less harmful than other tobacco products. Although the law does not specifically address advertising or promotion by means that are false or misleading, the law contains a comprehensive ban on tobacco advertising and promotion. Therefore, together these provisions prohibit promotion by any means that are false, misleading, deceptive, or likely to create an erroneous impression about its characteristics, health effects, hazards, or emissions.

The law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to promotion by any means that are false, misleading, deceptive, or likely to create an erroneous impression about its characteristics, health effects, hazards, or emissions.