Wales

Tobacco advertising on domestic television and radio has been prohibited since 1964 and 1978, respectively. Various regulatory agencies have governed broadcast media in the UK over the years. Current rules are found in the UK Code of Broadcast Advertising, issued by the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP), which prohibits advertising that promotes tobacco use or tobacco products. These rules apply to all broadcast media licensed by Ofcom (Office of Communications).

The law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to domestic TV, radio, and other broadcast media such as satellite and cable.

The law prohibits the publishing, printing, devising and distribution of tobacco advertisement in the course of business. In addition, it specifically bans tobacco advertising in a newspaper, periodical or other publication published in the course of business in the United Kingdom. The law provides an exemption for tobacco advertising within the tobacco trade.

FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines paras. 32 to 34 allow tobacco advertising for the purposes of communication within the tobacco trade. Therefore, the law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to advertising in domestic newspapers and magazines.

Domestic print media is prohibited with the exception of advertisements inside point of sale at specialist tobacconist shops and other retail shops that sell tobacco. Because the point of sale exception is analyzed under a separate category, the regulatory status code of “Banned” is used here rather than “Some Restrictions.”

Therefore, the law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. Guidelines with respect to advertising in other domestic print media such as pamphlets, leaflets, flyers, posters and signs. However, to fully align with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines, the law should ban all forms of printed tobacco advertisements, including at all points of sale.

UK Code of Broadcast Advertising, issued by the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP), prohibits advertising that promotes tobacco use or tobacco products. These rules apply to all broadcast media licensed by Ofcom (Office of Communications). Because Ofcom has the authority to regulate all broadcasters using the electromagnetic spectrum in the UK, it has the authority to license broadcasts originating outside the UK and broadcast in the UK. All frequencies on TV and the radio are licensed by Ofcom and are subject to the UK Code of Broadcast Advertising. Therefore, advertising on international TV, radio, and other broadcast media is prohibited.

The law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to international TV, radio, and other broadcast media such as satellite and cable.

The law prohibits tobacco advertising in foreign publications imported into the United Kingdom and aimed at the UK market. However, the law allows tobacco advertising in a publication printed outside the United Kingdom and whose principal market is not the United Kingdom. Thus, tobacco advertising could appear in publications imported into Wales in limited circumstances, e.g., a publication printed in Asia and aimed at an Asian market but sold in Wales.

Because the law restricts the importation of international newspapers and magazines that contain tobacco advertising, the law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the 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, 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 tobacco advertising via the internet aimed at the UK market. However, the law allows tobacco advertising via the internet if it is published by a person who does not do business in the United Kingdom and whose principal market is not the United Kingdom. Thus, tobacco advertising could appear on an internet website accessible in Wales but not aimed at the Welsh market. For example, an internet website in Bahasa Indonesian aimed at the Indonesia market could be accessed in Wales and could contain tobacco advertising.

Although the law restricts but does not prohibit all tobacco advertising on the internet, 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 internet communications, regardless of the country of origin and principal target market.

The law prohibits outdoor advertising under the general prohibition on publication of a tobacco advertisement. Although the law, as amended by the Health Act 2009, permits the Minister to grant an exclusion for specialist tobacconists, the Tobacco Advertising and Promotion (Specialist Tobacconists) (Wales) Regulations 2012 provide that advertising may not be visible from outside the premises.

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

Advertising at the point of sale is prohibited in most retail shops, but permitted in specialist tobacconists. The Tobacco Advertising and Promotion (Display of Prices) (Wales) Regulations 2012 set out requirements for price lists at retail tobacco outlets.

With respect to specialist tobacconists, the law permits advertising inside specialist tobacconists subject to some restrictions. Advertising is not permitted for cigarettes or roll-your-own tobacco and must not be visible from outside the premises. All advertisements must contain a health warning and the quitline phone number.

The current law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to advertising in most retail shops, but not with respect to specialist tobacconists where indoor advertising is permitted. To fully align, all advertising and promotion at point of sale, including inside specialist tobacconists, should be prohibited.

Product display at point of sale is prohibited in large and small retail shops, except in specialist tobacconists and bulk tobacconists. In specialist tobacconists, product display is permitted as long as the display is not visible from outside the premises. In bulk tobacconists, display is permitted if the display is in an area of the shop containing only tobacco products and smoking accessories and the display is not visible from outside that area. The shop must not be designed to require or encourage customers to pass through the area.

The law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to product display in large and small retail shops; however, the law does not align with respect to specialist tobacconists and bulk tobacconists because it permits product display at point of sale. To fully align, all retail display of tobacco products should be prohibited.

The law does not specifically address tobacco advertising through conventional mail. However, the law prohibits tobacco advertisements published, printed, devised or distributed in the UK by a person in the course of a business. This is interpreted as prohibiting publication and delivery of tobacco advertisements through conventional mail.

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

The legislation prohibits the distribution of a tobacco advertisement in electronic form by a person who is doing business in the UK. This is interpreted as covering telephone and cellular phone communications. Further, the UK Code of Broadcast Advertising (BCAP Code) prohibits advertising that promotes tobacco use or tobacco products. These rules apply to all broadcast media licensed by Ofcom (Office of Communications), which includes mobile phone providers.

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

The law prohibits the use on any non-tobacco product or service of any images, logos or emblems associated with a tobacco product. Thus brand marking is prohibited.

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

The law specifically prohibits the free distribution of any tobacco product to the public in the United Kingdom.

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

The law specifically prohibits the distribution of any product or coupon to the public in the United Kingdom if the purpose or effect of such distribution is to promote a tobacco product. Therefore, offering or distributing promotional discounts, gifts, prizes, and rewards to consumers in conjunction with a tobacco product purchase is prohibited.

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

The law prohibits sponsorship agreements whose purpose or effect is to promote a tobacco product in the United Kingdom. The definition of “sponsorship agreements” is broad and covers any agreement where a party makes a contribution, regardless of whether it is financial or in-kind. Because competitions associated with a tobacco product would entail an agreement where a tobacco company lends it name, such a competition would violate the provision prohibiting sponsorship agreements that promote tobacco.

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

Direct person-to-person communication does not appear to be covered by the general prohibition in Section 2 of the Advertising and Promotion Act 2002, as person-to-person communication does not necessarily involve publishing, printing or distributing an ad or transmitting it in electronic form. Therefore, the regulatory status code “Allowed” is given.

To align with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines, the law should prohibit all forms of direct marketing.

The law prohibits the use of any name, logo, or other feature of a tobacco product in connection with any non-tobacco product or service, if the purpose or effect of such use is to promote a tobacco product. Thus, brand stretching is prohibited.

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

The law prohibits the use of any feature associated with a non-tobacco product in connection with any tobacco product or service, if the purpose or effect of such use is to promote a tobacco product. Thus, 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 does not prohibit the sale of toys that resemble tobacco products.

To align with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines, the law should prohibit the sale of toys that resemble tobacco products.

The law does not prohibit the sale of candy that resembles tobacco products.

To align with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines, the law should prohibit the sale of candy that resembles tobacco products.

The law exempts from the advertising ban communications made in the course of business that are part of the tobacco trade. As a result, retailer incentive programs are allowed under the Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002.

To align with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines, all forms of tobacco promotion should be prohibited, including retailer incentive programs.

The Product Placement Regulations prohibit product placement in UK-made TV and on-demand programs of any tobacco product including electronic or smokeless cigarettes, tobacco accessories such as lighters, and cigarette papers or pipes intended for smoking.

The Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act (TAPA) 2002 can be interpreted as prohibiting tobacco product placement in other types of media, such as film, under the general ban on tobacco advertising, which includes a prohibition on distributing a tobacco advertisement in electronic form.

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 Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002 does not apply to unpaid depiction because the definition of advertising applies only to dealings in “the course of business.” However, the Ofcom Broadcasting Cods provides that in TV programs aimed at children, smoking must not be featured, condoned, encouraged or glamorized unless there is strong editorial justification. Therefore, the regulatory status code “Some Restrictions” is given.

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

The law prohibits sponsorship agreements if the purpose or effect of anything done as a result of the agreement is to promote a tobacco product in the United Kingdom. A sponsorship agreement is defined as an agreement in which “a party to it makes a contribution towards something, whether the contribution is in money or takes any other form (for example, the provision of services or of contributions in kind).” The law is interpreted as prohibiting sponsorship by the tobacco industry when accompanied by the promotion of a brand of tobacco products. Other sponsorship, however, is allowed.

To fully align with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to financial or other contributions, the law should prohibit any form of sponsorship that has the aim, effect, or likely effect of promoting tobacco usage, in addition to tobacco products, directly or indirectly.

The law prohibits sponsorship agreements if the purpose or effect of anything done as a result of the agreement is to promote a tobacco product in the United Kingdom. A sponsorship agreement is defined as an agreement in which “a party to it makes a contribution towards something, whether the contribution is in money or takes any other form (for example, the provision of services or of contributions in kind).” The law is interpreted as prohibiting a sponsorship agreement when accompanied by the promotion of a brand of tobacco products. However, other publicity, such as use of the company name if unrelated to a brand, is allowed.

To fully align with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines, the law should prohibit all tobacco sponsorship and publicity thereof.

The Standardised Packaging Regulations prohibit on tobacco product packaging any element or feature that "promotes a tobacco product or encourages its consumption by creating an erroneous impression about its characteristics, health effects, risks or emissions" or "suggests that a particular tobacco product is less harmful than others." This provision, taken together with the general ban on advertising and promotion, provides for a ban on all promotion by means that are false, misleading, deceptive or likely to create an erroneous impression about a product's characteristics, health effects, hazards or emissions.

The law aligns with FCTC Art. 13 and the FCTC Art. 13 Guidelines with respect to prohibiting misleading tobacco advertising and promotion.