The bill, which could come into effect from July 2005, will also see tobacco companies banned from distributing free cigarettes as a means of promotion. This will leave cinema advertising, billboards, posters and promotion of tobacco via other means, such as branded clothing, unaffected by a Europe-wide ban.
At the moment, there are different levels of bans on advertising tobacco in different countries of the European Union, leading to problems over how cross-border sports such as Formula 1 are regulated. Formula 1 had originally been given an exemption that would have allowed tobacco sponsorship until 2006, but it has now lost this.
Most of the countries in the EU already have tobacco advertising bans of one level or another, and an EU law already existed preventing tobacco companies from advertising on television.
The tobacco industry had lobbied heavily against the new rules. Tobacco firms claim that their marketing is targeted at converting existing smokers to their brands, and not winning new smokers. However, European politicians rejected proposals that would have watered down the legislation.
The tobacco industry had been pushing for an exemption for advertising in local newspapers, arguing that they do not usually cross borders.
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