COMPLAINTS AGAINST TOBACCO ADVERTISEMENTS AND THE GOVERNMENT'S VOLUNTARY AGREEMENTS

EDM number 569 in 1995-96, proposed by Kevin Barron on 05/03/1996.

That this House notes that the Advertising Standards Authority acting under the Cigarette Code produced, but did not publish, a report in June 1995 which upheld two out of three complaints about the Benson and Hedges Gratis promotion; notes that six months elapsed with no further action by the Advertising Standards Authority until the honourable Member for Orpington directed that the matter should instead be referred to the Committee for Monitoring Agreements on Tobacco Advertising and Sponsorship (COMATAS), whose members are civil servants and tobacco industry appointees; further notes that COMATAS, acting under the Cigarette Promotion Code, rejected the complaints in January 1996; believes that a committee comprised of tobacco industry representatives is an inappropriate way to examine complaints; further believes that the Government's Voluntary Agreements on Tobacco Advertising and Sponsorship do not work; and calls on Her Majesty's Governmentto legislate to ban all forms of tobacco advertising, sponsorship and promotion during the current parliamentary session.

This motion has been signed by a total of 80 MPs.