A comparative study of both existing and proposed legislation designed to restrict tobacco use in the twelve countries of the European Economic Community. The book is organized according to five main categories of anti-tobacco legislation: direct and indirect advertising, labelling and such related issues as health warnings and limits on tar levels, the protection of children, the definition of tobacco products and the prohibition of smokeless products, and the use of tobacco in public places. For each type of legislation, the book provides a concise country-by-country summary of recent laws and regulations presented in chronological order. Each section concludes with a tabular comparison of legislation in the EEC countries, a summary of current trends, and a brief discussion of the types of legislation that have proved successful and can thus serve as models for other countries. Such a format allows readers to trace the evolution of laws within a given country and then evaluate the strength of legislation compared with other countries. While documenting the increasing stringency of regulations, the study notes that there is no general agreement among countries on the extent to which advertising should be regulated, as some countries are also interested in protecting free enterprise and the associated revenues. In most countries, the absence of dissuasive penalties makes the legislative texts themselves open to free interpretation or even deliberate non-respect. Regulations concerning indirect advertising are noted to be the most frequently violated, even when clearly established, due to the tobacco industry's systematic research into, and use of, loopholes. Concerning smokeless tobacco, the study concludes that a total ban on distribution should be the model for Europe.

eng fre.

WHODOC

WHO monograph

4