Agencies under fire for sabotaging Govt tobacco regulation

A Commons committee has launched a scathing attack on agencies for

seeking to get round Government attempts to ban tobacco advertising.

In a report published on Wednesday, the all-party Health Select

Committee said: ’Advertising agencies have connived in promoting tobacco

consumption, have shamelessly exploited smoking as an aspirational

pursuit in ways that inevitably make it attractive to children, and have

attempted to use their creative talents to undermine Government policy

and evade regulation.’

The MPs based their strong criticism on a mountain of evidence submitted

by four agencies with tobacco accounts - M&C Saatchi, CDP, Mustoe

Merriman Herring Levy and TBWA GGT Simons Palmer, who were quizzed

during the committee’s inquiry.

They said that the agencies’ strategy documents showed their argument

that ads were designed only to persuade existing smokers to switch

brands was ’completely discredited’.

The MPs said the evidence also showed that voluntary agreements had

served the public badly. ’Regulations have been seen as hurdles to be

side-stepped; legislation banning advertising as a challenge, a policy

to be undermined by whatever means possible,’ the report said.

It proposed that all future regulations be statutory and policed by a

new Tobacco Regulatory Authority. It urged the Government to opt for a

total ban on sponsorship as well as advertising.

The MPs accused Paul Bainsfair, the chairman of TBWA, of being

’inconsistent’ after he denied the agency was targeting 15-year-olds but

admitted there might an overlap from ads aimed at 18- to 24-year-olds.

This article was first published on Campaign