Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002

Except to the trade, all advertising including direct mailing or emailing customers without their specific request each and every time, and free sampling of any tobacco product or promotion item is already illegal. So is any form of sponsorship with a few well-known exceptions.

Still to be implemented are regulations on what advertising is permitted at point of sale everywhere, except on websites (see EU Advertising Directive below), and in Specialist Tobacconists, as well as on brandsharing.

You are still free to advertise your business using generic words such as cigars, but not specific brands.

Own label tobacco products sold by specialist tobacconists may be affected. Check with AITS if you are a member.

Advertising at Point of Sale Regulations

Date to watch : 21st Decemeber 2004 (May change)

The Government’s regulations for advertising at point of sale are scheduled to come into effect on 21st December 2004.

Advertising at any point of sale, except in Specialist Tobacconists as defined by TAPA (see below), for any tobacco product will be limited to one A5 poster per outlet on a gantry more than 30 % of which must carry a Health Warning.

Websites are not included in these regulations, so no controls will be implemented on 21st December 2004. (See EU Advertising Directive below). These regulations have been challenged in the courts, and a hearing is set for mid-October, however you would be wise to plan for implementation on 21st December.

Keep abreast of developments by checking with the Department of Health website or with your cigar suppliers.

Notes:

• Any branded point-of-sale items will be illegal in any outlet that does not qualify as a Specialist Tobacconist (see below). This includes brand names on cabinets or humidors, which should be removed or covered over.

• Generic signs for tobacco products such as “Havana Cigars on Sale Here” signs remain legal at points of sale.

• Simple price lists with factual information and price indications are not considered to be advertising at point of sale, and remain legal. However there are no guidelines as to what constitutes “a simple price list” or “factual information”. It seems certain that “Montecristo No. 4 £7.60” would be acceptable. It would probably be acceptable to add “5 1/8” x 42 ring gauge” or “Founded in 1935”. However “The world’s biggest selling hand made cigar” would, almost certainly, be unacceptable.

• Cigar menus containing brands images or advertising messages should not be displayed in any non-Specialist outlet after 21st December. However they can be supplied to a customer if information about tobacco products is requested by the customer.

• Branded items, which are for sale, remain legal until the brandsharing regulations are implemented (see below).

• Promotions such as cigars rollers’ displays are illegal in any retail environment except Specialist Tobacconists as defined by the TAPA.

Websites

Date to watch : No later than 31st July 2005

Advertising on tobacco websites is not included in the draft
Point of Sale regulations. Instead it will be banned when the
latest EU directive on tobacco advertising takes effect, which
must be before 31st July 2005.

It is not clear what advertising on websites will be permitted
except on those that are only for the trade. The principle is
that any advertising that is not permitted in the press will not
be permitted on a website.

This needs clarification and the Imported Tobacco Products
Advisory Council (ITPAC) and the Association of Independent Tobacco Specialists (AITS) are pressing the Department of Health for a meeting to find out more details.

Advertising in Specialist Tobacconists Regulations

Date to watch : 21st December 2004 (May change)

Regulations governing advertising inside and on the outside of Specialist Tobacconists also come into force on 21st December 2004. All advertising (including window displays) for cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco is banned, but it remains legal, subject to the conditions set out below, to advertise cigars, pipe tobacco and snuff.

A Specialist Tobacconist is defined in the Act as a shop selling tobacco products by retail (whether or not it also sells other things) more than half of whose sales on the premises in question derive from the sale of cigars, snuff, pipe tobacco and smoking accessories. A shop within a shop, i.e. a self-contained part of a shop, can qualify as a Specialist Tobacconist with regard to that self-contained part of the shop.

Advertising inside or on the outside of Specialist Tobacconists will be required to carry a Health Warning. If the advertisement itself is over 75 cm2 in area (approx. size of a pack of mini cigarillos), a warning measuring 22.5cm2 plus the 3mm to 4mm black border is required. If the advertisement is under 75 cm2 in area, a warning covering 30% of the advertisement’s area plus the black border is required.

The message on the warning must be either ‘Smoking kills’ or Smoking seriously harms you and others around you’ together with ‘NHS Smoking Helpline 0800 169 0 169’.

Notes:

• It will be necessary to stick the Specialist Tobacconists’ Advertising Health Warnings onto all branded PoS items in Specialist Tobacconists by 21st December 2004.

• The Health Warning for advertising in Specialist Tobacconists has no relevance outside premises that qualify as Specialist Tobacconists.

Brandsharing Regulations

Date to watch : 31st July 2005

The brandsharing regulations will come into force on Sunday 31st July 2005. This means that from that date any use on a non-tobacco product of a tobacco product brand name or feature, or the use on any tobacco product of a non-tobacco brand name or feature, will be illegal, if the purpose is to promote a tobacco product.

There are some exemptions to the regulations, but they are far from clear.

It is crystal clear, however, that items such as cutters, lighters, sleeves and ashtrays, which carry tobacco product brand names, will be illegal.

Note:

• Own label tobacco products sold by specialist tobacconists may be affected. Check with AITS for guidance, if you are a member.