The Federal Council wants to extend the ban on tobacco advertising from 2026 – also to newspapers

After the popular initiative “Children and young people without tobacco advertising” was adopted in 2022, it was decided to ban all tobacco advertising that reaches children and young people. At a meeting on Wednesday, the Bundesrat decided to renew the ban on advertising tobacco products and e-cigarettes.

In the future, no advertisements for tobacco products or e-cigarettes may be placed in the print media. But also publicly accessible places such as points of sale and festivals, which are visited by minors, are also affected, according to a press release from Wednesday.

Online advertising of tobacco products can continue, but only under special conditions. An age verification system should ensure that minors are not allowed access to sites that may contain tobacco advertising. Such an age verification system will also be introduced for the sale of products via the internet or vending machines.

In addition, sponsorship of events by tobacco brands to which minors have access should no longer be possible.

According to the Bundesrat, the tobacco industry must also disclose its advertising expenditure. However, the companies may report the numbers together to protect business confidentiality.

In 2021, parliament passed the “Tobacco Products Act”. The Regulation on Tobacco Products and E-cigarettes specifies the provisions of this law. This includes details of combined alerts, test purchases, or notifications of products to the Federal Office of Public Health.

The regulation is currently being prepared and will be submitted for consultation in the summer. Both the law and the regulation are expected to enter into force in mid-2024. The initiative is expected to be implemented in 2026.

(oo)