When was tobacco sponsorship banned

With tobacco companies sponsoring all of the football codes Australian Rules, rugby and soccer , the Australian Opens in tennis and golf, motor racing in all forms, major opera and ballet companies and many other sports, arts and cultural groups, events and festivals, tobacco advertisements were ubiquitous.

Sport became the major battleground for further restrictions on tobacco advertising during the early s, particularly after health promotion foundations in Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and elsewhere demonstrated that alternative sponsors were not so difficult to attract.

With the passage on 17 December of the Australian Government's Tobacco Advertising Prohibition Act the Act , 7 most forms of tobacco sponsorship were phased out by December , with cricket sponsorship concluding on 30 April Sponsorship exemptions were granted to events that were of international importance that would otherwise not be held in Australia if sponsorship were banned.

Finally, after 31 December , advertising on billboards, illuminated signs and other outdoor signs could no longer be displayed. The maximum penalty for any regulated corporation to 'knowingly or recklessly' publish, or authorise or cause a tobacco advertisement to be published is penalty units. Under the Act, 'Accidental or incidental' publication of tobacco advertisements is permitted if the advertisement is an accidental or incidental accompaniment to the publication of other matter and the publisher does not receive any direct or indirect benefit whether financial or not for publishing the advertisement in addition to any direct or indirect benefit that the person receives for publishing the other matter.

The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control WHO FCTC defines tobacco advertising and promotion as 'any form of commercial communication, recommendation or action with the aim, effect or likely effect of promoting a tobacco product or tobacco use either directly or indirectly' p4 and requires that each country shall 'undertake a comprehensive ban on all tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship' p Because of the comprehensiveness of its legislation, in Australia was described by British American Tobacco Australia officials as having one of the 'darkest markets in the world', rivalled only by Canada, in which to market tobacco products piii1.

While Australia closed most 'above-the-line' marketing opportunities to tobacco companies, the industry focused instead on non-traditional means of promotion, capitalising on legislative gaps and loopholes.

Industry marketing efforts since the later s have included event promotions, trade marketing, in-store displays and innovative packaging. Additionally, the Australian Government has introduced the Tobacco Advertising Prohibition Amendment Bill which seeks to make it an offence to advertise tobacco products on the Internet and in other forms of electronic media. The Internet is clearly a major vehicle by which young people can be exposed to tobacco advertising and promotion and this legislative change aims to bring electronic means of advertising, whether on the Internet or by other electronic means, into line with other restrictions in place for other media.

At the time of writing, Australia is introducing world-leading legislation to implement its 29 April announcement 11,12 that, as of 1 July , all tobacco products will be required to be sold in standardised, plain packaging.

This chapter outlines why tobacco advertising is a problem, examines existing Australian national, state and territory tobacco advertising legislation, and details recent and current marketing strategies of the tobacco industry. A glossary of key advertising terms can be found in the box below. Advertising: any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or services by an identified sponsor Branding: the use of a name, term, symbol or design to identify a product Buzz marketing: using popular entertainment or news to encourage people to talk about a brand or product Dark market: highly restricted marketing environment 9.

Guerrilla marketing: a form of unconventional marketing, such as chalk messages on a sidewalk, which is often associated with staged events Marketing: business activities that direct the exchange of goods and services between producers and consumers 16 and includes not only the advertising and other forms of promotion of products but also pricing, packaging and distribution or 'placement' known as the 'four Ps' of marketing.

Mobile seller: a salesperson who carries tobacco products in a tray or container for the purpose of selling the product directly to customers in venues such as bars or outdoor events. Non-branded advertising: advertising that promotes smoking but contains no specific tobacco brand.

Open source marketing: collaboration between consumers and brand owners on the development and promotion of products and services Point-of-sale marketing: the arrangements of product and placement of promotional material in retail stores There is little more we can say. We are allied very closely with the WHO and well aligned with their position.

Todt, speaking in Melbourne, also said that plans were in motion to implement a permanent solution to replacing the former Formula One race director Charlie Whiting, who died suddenly on Thursday in Melbourne. Unfortunately we will have to implement that earlier than we were hoping. Tobacco companies argue that they only market their products to influence the purchasing patterns of existing adult smokers but research shows that tobacco advertising and promotion encourages children to take up smoking.

Internal tobacco company documents have also shown that children tend to smoke the most heavily-promoted brands. Comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising are important to reduce youth smoking rates and to support adult smokers to quit. Partial bans are ineffective because companies move their marketing activities to formats not covered by law.

In general, tobacco consumption falls more quickly in countries with comprehensive advertising bans than without them. Article 13 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control requires nations that have ratified the treaty to introduce comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising and promotion within five years.

Health promotion sponsorship of sporting organisations and sports events was initially used as a replacement for tobacco sponsorship. VicHealth action agenda for health promotion , VicHealth , Tobacco smoking is still the leading single preventable cause of disease and death.

The less people smoke and are exposed to harmful second-hand smoke, the greater the health gains across the community. To achieve these gains, organisations such as VicHealth have targeted young people, encouraging them to not take up smoking.

Sport is a good vehicle for reaching young people and delivering the anti-smoking message. VicHealth and other organisations also continue to build the evidence base that supports anti-smoking; to know what works and ensure that this knowledge is translated into action.

The Quit Now campaign provides information on the health risks of smoking, and what individuals can do to reduce or eliminate their dependence on tobacco use. An advertisement is intended to foster positive attitudes, beliefs, and expectations about a product. When tobacco products are associated with activities such as sport, having a strong appeal to youth, there is an increased risk that smoking behaviour will be seen as acceptable, even desirable. The link between exposure to tobacco promotion and smoking behaviour is well documented.

Research has confirmed that the impact of tobacco advertising is significant; even when cultural background, socioeconomic status, or parental and peer smoking behaviour is taken into consideration.

According to Quit Victoria, by the three largest tobacco companies were also the three biggest sponsors of Australian sport. Because tobacco advertising on Australian television had been banned in , on-ground advertising and naming rights to competitions and events was strategically used by cigarette manufacturers to provide product exposure through sport.

Australia became one of the first countries to legislate an end to the association between tobacco sponsorship and sporting events. The Tobacco Advertising Prohibition Act expressly prohibited most forms of tobacco advertising, including the sponsorship of sporting events. Existing sponsorships were allowed to run their course, but no new sponsorships were permitted by the Act. The majority of sporting organisations quickly moved to replace tobacco company sponsorships and by all domestic sponsorships had expired.

However, under Section 18 of the Act the Minister for Health and Ageing had discretionary power to grant an exemption to the general ban on tobacco advertising in Australia for sporting events of international significance. An amendment to the Act in removed this discretionary power.

At the time of the amendment there were still five events of international significance permitted to carry tobacco sponsorship when they were staged in Australia: the Ladies Masters Golf; the Indy ; Rally Australia; the Motorcycle Grand Prix; and the Formula One Grand Prix. During the phase-in period three of these events were able to acquire alternative sponsorship. The Motorcycle and Formula One Grand Prix events carried tobacco sponsorship and advertising until the deadline.

Australian sport became totally free of all tobacco sponsorship of events from October Tobacco sponsorship and advertising in sport.