- Anti Tobacco Laws-
Controlling the Effects of Cigarettes with Smoking Bans and Laws.

Anti tobacco laws in many countries follow the recommendations of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

These measures include restrictions on tobacco advertisements, consumer education about the health effects of smoking cigarettes, and packaging and labelling requirements to promote truth in advertising about the harmful effects of smoking cigarettes.

The smoking facts provide the evidence that these anti tobacco strategies are successful in reducing smoking prevalence and the uptake of cigarette smoking, especially among the young.

The effects of smoking cigarettes are staggering. Governments all over the world try to reduce the use of tobacco by implementing tobacco control measures entrenched in legislation and anti tobacco laws .

The WHO framework convention on tobacco control is an international treaty that seeks to reduce the global health effects of smoking cigarettes by educating people about the real dangers of smoking and limiting the ability of tobacco companies to promote their harmful products to people who are vulnerable to their marketing messages.

Members of the United Nations sign onto the convention indicating their agreement with its purpose. Their ratification of the treaty indicates their commitment and obligation to abide by the recommended anti tobacco control measures.

Among the anti tobacco control measures required under the convention are the strategies that have been found to be useful in reducing the prevalence of tobacco use in a society including:

• increasing the price of cigarettes through taxation - raising the price of cigarettes through taxation has been found to be an effective way of reducing smoking prevalence and many countries have had success with this strategy.


• reducing availability of the product through access regulations that restrict sales to minors, the sale of single cigarettes and the open display of products - removing tobacco visibility by eliminating advertising (especially advertising directed at young people) has been shown to eliminate the normalization of tobacco use in society. If the product is not highly visible it seems to become less attractive.


• restricting advertising and sponsorships such as at sporting events or other public gatherings - this strategy eliminates the conflicting message to society that although smoking is bad the money delivered by the tobacco industry is not.


• requirements for package labelling and warnings that show the many harmful effects of smoking cigarettes - this anti-tobacco strategy delivers the true message about the health effects of smoking cigarettes and is predicated on truth in advertising. After all, cigarettes are a legally available product that are known to harm you if you use them exactly as directed. Usually when a product is found to be harmful after it has been marketed to the public, there is a recall but not so for cigarettes.

As a signatory to the WHO Framework Convention for Tobacco Control, Canada ratified the treaty in November 2004.

Anti Tobacco Laws in Canada

The "Tobacco Act" was phased in over several years and came into full effect in 2003.

The statute restricts promotion and advertising of tobacco and tobacco products. Except for a few "explicitly" allowed provisions, the promotion of tobacco products through advertising, sponsorships, and testimonials is now illegal.

The law does allow some marketing efforts for tobacco products as long as they are not specifically directed to young people or in print media that has a young audience.

The USA is a signatory to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control but has not yet given formal sanction to their obligation to abide by the convention (ratification).

In other words they are talking about it but not actually doing anything more that what was in place when they signed (May 2004). In fact it appears that they are now decreasing their tobacco control measures because of budgetary constraints.

In the United States tobacco control measures are variable from state to state but here are some of the interesting smoking facts about anti-tobacco efforts in the USA. (See Smoking Laws for even more information.)

Budget cuts have resulted in a reduction of previously successful education and public media programs directed at reducing youth susceptibility to tobacco marketing messages. Some experts believe that this action leaves the population of youth more susceptible to smoking initiation ₂.

But then, more smokers only equals more taxation in the short term. In the longer term smokers cost money because of their loss of productivity and the care costs associated with the health effects of smoking cigarettes.

In the United States of America we also see that anti tobacco measures are scorned in states that are heavily dependent on tobacco farming.

Those states that have the lowest rates of state tax (as low as $.07 in South Carolina) are those that are most economically dependent on the tobacco industry.

I would appear as if the dire economic situation in the US has created a will to increase the economic dependency on the tobacco industry as long as there is hope it will keep people working and provide a source of government income through taxation.

Once again it appears that economic dependence trumps any of the known costs that result from the harmful effects of smoking cigarettes.

For more information on the economic influence of tobacco go from this article on
anti tobacco measures
to
Smoking Bans
The Effect on Businesses When Anti Smoking Laws Stop Smoking in Public Places.

Smoking Facts about Anti Tobacco Laws and Control Measures

Taxation has proven to be the most effective and cheapest way of reducing smoking prevalence in a society. Many studies have indicated that as cigarette or tobacco prices increase smoking prevalence falls._1,2,3

Increasing the cost of cigarettes has also been shown to be the most cost effective anti-tobacco strategy. A price increase of 10% can lead to a short term reduction of smoking prevalence of about 2.5% and in the long term that reduction could be 10%.₄

Anti tobacco laws and regulations work best when implemented within a society that also has smoking bans and access to smoking cessation education, programs and methods._{2, 4}

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