Norway

The Act and Regulations prohibit direct and indirect forms of tobacco advertising. Therefore, tobacco advertising on domestic TV, radio, and other broadcast media is banned.

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

The Act and Regulations prohibit direct and indirect forms of tobacco advertising. Therefore, tobacco advertising in domestic newspapers and magazines is banned.

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

The Act and Regulations prohibit direct and indirect forms of tobacco advertising. Therefore, tobacco advertising through domestic print media, such as pamphlets, leaflets, flyers, posters, and signs, is banned.

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

The Regulations explicitly exempt from the advertising ban “indirect advertising of limited scope in foreign programs broadcast on Norwegian television and Norwegian cable networks.” Because direct advertising is not exempt, the law is interpreted as banning direct tobacco advertising on international broadcast media.

The law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to tobacco advertising on international TV, radio, and other broadcast media.

The Act and Regulations contain a comprehensive ban on tobacco advertising. However, the Regulations specifically exempt advertising in foreign printed media if the main target of the advertising or foreign printed media is not the Norwegian market. If the target of the advertising or foreign printed media is the Norwegian market, the advertising is prohibited. Therefore, the regulatory status code “Some Restrictions” is given.

Because the law restricts advertising through international newspapers and magazines, 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 more fully align with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines, the law should prohibit tobacco advertising in all international newspapers and magazines.

The Act and Regulations contain a comprehensive ban on tobacco advertising. Therefore, tobacco advertising through internet communications is prohibited.

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

The Act and Regulations prohibit direct and indirect forms of tobacco advertising. Therefore, tobacco advertising through outdoor advertising is banned.

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

The Act and Regulations prohibit direct and indirect forms of tobacco advertising. Therefore, tobacco advertising at point of sale is banned. The Act and Regulations permit only an informational sign listing the tobacco products and smoking accessories sold there and their prices. In addition, a sales outlet may display a sign in close proximity to the sales premises indicating that tobacco products are sold there. The sign is for informational purposes only, and must be “of customary size and equipment in a neutral typographic design” (for example, a sign simply stating “Tobacco”). Such signs may not be movable or illuminated advertisements.

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

The Tobacco Control Act prohibits the display of tobacco products at points of sale. The Act exempts tobacconist (or "specialty") shops from the ban; however, the Regulations restrict the display at tobacconist shops by providing that the size, design, and positioning of products should not have an advertising effect.

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

The Act and Regulations prohibit direct and indirect forms of tobacco advertising. Therefore, tobacco advertising delivered through conventional mail is banned.

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

The Act and Regulations prohibit direct and indirect forms of tobacco advertising. Therefore, tobacco advertising via telephone and cellular phone is banned.

The law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to tobacco advertising via telephone and cellular phone.

The Act and Regulations prohibit direct and indirect forms of tobacco advertising. The definition of “indirect advertising” includes the “use of specific colors and layout/design associated with specific tobacco products.” Therefore, brand marking is prohibited.

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

The Act prohibits the free distribution of tobacco products to consumers.

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

The Act prohibits the sale of tobacco products at a discount. The Act does not address other types of promotional activity such as the offering of gifts, prizes, and rewards to consumers in conjunction with a tobacco product purchase. Because the definition of “advertising” encompasses only “mass communication,” this type of promotional activity may or may not fall within the ban on advertising, depending upon the specific case.

To align with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines, the law should explicitly prohibit all tobacco promotion and provide a definition of “tobacco advertising and promotion” in accordance with the FCTC definition in order to clarify the scope of the ban.

The law does not specifically address competitions associated with tobacco products. However, advertising of a competition associated with a tobacco product would be banned under the general ban on tobacco advertising.

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

The Act and Regulations prohibit direct and indirect forms of tobacco advertising. However, because the definition of advertising is limited to “mass communication,” the ban does not cover the direct targeting of individuals with promotional or information materials.

To align with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines, the law should prohibit all forms of tobacco advertising and promotion, including the direct targeting of individuals by person-to-person means. To clarify the scope of the ban, the law should provide a definition of “tobacco advertising and promotion” in accordance with the definition provided in the FCTC.

The Act prohibits using a tobacco brand name or trade mark in connection with advertising other goods or services. However, the Advertising Regulations make an exception for brand stretching. Section 9 of the Regulations permits non-tobacco products or services that are known by a tobacco brand name or trademark to be displayed in shops or stores. Therefore, brand stretching is permitted but the display of items is restricted.

To align with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines, the law should prohibit brand stretching entirely.

The Act prohibits launching tobacco products with a brand name or trade mark that is familiar as a brand or trade mark for other goods or services. In addition, the Advertising Regulations prohibit indirect advertising, which includes “launch[ing] of tobacco products with the help of a trademark that is known as or is in use as a trademark for other goods or services.”

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

The Act prohibits the sale of imitation tobacco products to persons under 18 years of age. All forms of advertising of imitation tobacco products, such as toys that resemble tobacco products, are prohibited.

To align with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines, the law should prohibit all toys that resemble tobacco products instead of restricting the sales prohibition to minors.

The Act prohibits the sale of imitation tobacco products to persons under 18 years of age. All forms of advertising of imitation tobacco products, such as candy that resembles tobacco products, are prohibited.

To align with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines, the law should prohibit all candy that resembles tobacco products instead of restricting the sales prohibition to minors.

The law does not specifically address retailer incentive programs. The law bans tobacco advertising, which by definition encompasses “mass communication for marketing purposes.” An interpretation of the particular incentive scheme would have to be made in order to ascertain whether it meets the criteria of “mass communication for marketing purposes.” No such case has been decided in Norway.

To align with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines, the law should prohibit all tobacco advertising and promotion, including retailer incentive programs. In addition, a definition of “tobacco advertising and promotion” should be provided in accordance with the FCTC definition in order to define the scope of the ban.

The Act and Regulations prohibit direct and indirect forms of tobacco advertising. The definition of “advertising” includes “mass communication for marketing purposes” to consumers, and this definition is interpreted as encompassing paid placement of tobacco products. Therefore, paid placement of tobacco products in TV, film, and other media is banned.

The law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to paid placement of tobacco products.

The law does not address unpaid depiction of tobacco use or tobacco products in TV, film, or other entertainment media. Therefore, the law is interpreted as allowing unpaid depiction of tobacco use or tobacco products.

To align with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines, the law should specifically address unpaid depiction in accordance with FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines paras. 29-32.

The law prohibits tobacco sponsorship. Given the broad definition of “tobacco sponsorship,” the law is interpreted as prohibiting all financial contributions or other support from the tobacco industry, regardless of whether that support is publicized.

The law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to tobacco sponsorship.

The law prohibits all forms of sponsorship and therefore there can be no publicity of financial contributions or other sponsorship by the tobacco industry.

The law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines in this regard.

The law does not specifically address promotion by means that are false, misleading, or deceptive. However, the law prohibits tobacco product packaging that suggests that a tobacco product is less damaging to health than another tobacco product. In addition, there is a general ban on advertising, and therefore there can be no advertising by means that are false or misleading.

The law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to promotion by means that are false, misleading, or deceptive.