§ Lord Faulkner of Worcesterasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether public houses and licensed premises are exempt from the provisions of the Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002 in respect of point of sale material such as beer mats, vending machines and display cabinets; and [HL2385]
Whether the provision by tobacco companies of display cabinets, free of charge, to public houses and other licensed premises to encourage impulse buying of cigars is consistent with the Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002. [HL2386]
§ Baroness AndrewsWhen fully in force the Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002 will provide a comprehensive ban on tobacco advertising and promotion, with certain limited exceptions.
Public houses and licensed premises are not exempt from the provisions of the Act. Any new measures to advertise or promote tobacco products in order to encourage impulse buying of cigars are not in the spirit of the Act.
The Act provides for regulations to be made to control advertising wherever tobacco products are offered for sale. There is also provision in the Act to prohibit or restrict the use of tobacco branding on non-tobacco products or services (brandsharing). The Government have consulted on draft regulations 44WA governing point of sale (including in pubs) and brandsharing. The responses received during the consultation are being considered.
Once the regulations are in final draft they will be notified to the European Commission under the Technical Standards Directive 98/34/EC, as amended by Directive 98/48/EC.