National Council rejects law: ban on tobacco advertising back to square one

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Children and young people are no longer allowed to see advertisements for cigarettes and other tobacco products. Switzerland wrote this into the federal constitution in February 2022 when it adopted the tobacco initiative.

But implementation is extremely difficult! On Thursday, the National Council rejected the legal reform after a two-and-a-half-hour debate – with 121 votes in favor, 64 votes against and 5 abstentions. SP, Greens and SVP almost unanimously said no.

Tactical no from the left

The parties were less unanimous in their justification. The SVP faction saw, among other things, economic freedom at risk and claimed that the Federal Council had exceeded its goal with its proposal to implement the initiative.

However, the council opted for a stricter ban. For example, she criticizes the proposed permission for tobacco advertising in newspapers and magazines, which are mainly (95 percent to be precise) aimed at adults. The possible sponsorship of open-air performances and concerts was also a thorn in their side – even though the intention was that minors would not see this sponsorship.

The Federal Council wanted to implement the initiative with a comprehensive advertising ban on tobacco products and e-cigarettes, but the Council of States weakened the proposal last fall – to the dismay of the initiative committee and left-wing parties. Because the majority of the National Council did not want to give in to crucial criticisms of the SP and the Greens, the Council Left orchestrated a no against the law at the last minute.

The proposal has led to criticism in advance

That brings this back to field 1. Now the responsible committee of the Council of States must go through the books and submit a proposal that is more in line with the National Council. The SP and the Greens can therefore hope for stricter implementation in the second round. If the Council of States rejects the proposal or the National Council rejects it for the second time, the deal is done. Then a completely new idea would be needed to implement the initiative.

The template was criticized in advance. The Federal Office of Justice criticized the Council of States’ draft last fall: the deletion of some articles from the original initiative text was “not constitutional”. However, the responsible committee of the National Council adopted most of the Council of States’ proposals in mid-January. (SDA/zac)

Source:Blick