Final butt out on magazine tobacco ads seen as inevitable

There seems to be a certain air of resignation on all sides about the impending ban on the limited advertising of tobacco in magazines. An amendment to the Tobacco Act awaits only Senate approval to end all print advertising by tobacco companies. (The right to place ads in publications with an adult readership of at least 85% came about in 2007 when a Supreme Court ruling clarified regulations laid out in the Tobacco Act of 1997.) The rationale is that, even when a magazine has an overwhelmingly adult readership, there is some "spillover" to young people.

In fact, says Gary Garland, the executive director, advertising services for Magazines Canada, the new legislation is likely to have little economic impact on the industry because few of those magazines eligible to run such ads have done so. He told the Rogers website everbetter.ca:

“Every publication looks at their readership to determine if they meet the test, and if they do, whether they want to see tobacco advertising,” said Garland. “From what we can tell, most publishers were not accepting [tobacco advertising] anyway, as a matter of policy.”

Catherine Doyle, a spokesperson for Imperial Tobacco Canada, said her industry too was resigned to the Senate’s eventual passage of Bill C-32, although she questioned its fairness.

“Right now, we have very limited opportunities to advertise and we do it in a very conscientious and serious way, understanding the risks of the product,” said Doyle. “We only advertise in 85% adult readership publications, we only do brand or information advertising—all of which was allowed by the Supreme Court of Canada—so it just seems like going an extra step to eliminate even that.”

A determination about when the amendments to the Tobacco Act proposed by Bill C-32, which also include a prohibition on flavoured cigarillos, “blunt wraps” and cigarettes, take effect will not be made until the bill receives Senate approval and royal assent.