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Mark Banham

Tobacco manufacturers will be looking to bloody the nose of the Government in the bitter streetfight to defend point-of-sale promotion, the last territory available for their marketing activities.

This final turf war signals a kick-back against what many in the industry are calling a “nanny state mentality”, which has pushed the tobacco industry away from advertising altogether.

The new set of regulations, which is being challenged by six tobacco manufacturers, including British American Tobacco, Imperial Tobacco and Gallaher, were presented to Parliament last month and could effectively sever the last contact tobacco firms have to promote their products to adult smokers.

The regulations restrict advertising of tobacco products at point of sale to one advertisement per retail outlet as long as this promotion does not exceed the size of an A5 sheet of paper. The advertisement must be attached to a gantry or other fixed display unit. To further limit the industry’s only ad opportunity, 30% of any POS material must be dominated by a health warning surrounded by a black border of between 3mm and 4mm.

Public Health Minister Melanie Johnson said that the larger POS material was an attraction to underage smokers and children and encouraged them to take up smoking in later life: “The large, brightly coloured tobacco adverts currently on shelving are often close to products aimed at children, such as sweets and magazines, and can attract young people to tobacco products.”

Tim Lord, chief executive of the Tobacco Manufacturers Association, which represents the six tobacco firms, challenged this thinking: “We consider that the regulations are disproportionate and illegal. They contain unreasonable restrictions on providing information at POS and will inhibit competition.”

The restrictions apply regardless of how many gantries or display units are located on the premises. There are also substantial limitations on ad content.

Lord stated that there was no other option than to face the Department of Health across a courtroom: “Regrettably, our attempts to resolve the matter through dialogue with the Department of Health have come to nothing, so we have no option but to resort to legal action.”

The pressure placed on tobacco firms to cut down their promotional presence in the marketplace follows the ban taken on by the outdoor and publishing industries on 14 February last year.

Johnson added: “The Government does not accept the arguments put forward by the tobacco industry. The new regulations place strong restrictions on tobacco advertising at POS and are an important step in taking forward the Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002.