Table 4.
Demand: evidence-based regulatory strategies for alcohol and tobacco
| Policy category | Alcohol * | Tobacco† |
|---|---|---|
| Restrictions on promotion (marketing, advertising, sponsorship, labelling, etc.) | Legal restrictions on exposures: limited/moderate effectiveness. There is strong evidence of a dose-response effect of exposure on young people's drinking, but evidence of only a small or insignificant effect on per-capita consumption from partial advertising bans; advertising bans or restrictions may shift marketing activities to less regulated media (e.g. Internet). Legal restrictions on content: no controlled studies / insufficient evidence. Evidence that advertising content affects consumption, but no evidence of the impact of content restrictions as embodied in industry self-regulation codes. Alcohol industry's voluntary self-regulation codes: lack of effectiveness. Industry voluntary self-regulation codes of practice are ineffective in limiting exposure of young persons to alcohol marketing, nor do they prevent objectionable content from being aired. |
Not mentioned.Comprehensively ban advertising, promotion and sponsorship, including cross-border bans. If this is not possible, apply restrictions, including the prohibition of all forms of advertising, promotion, and sponsorship that promote a product by any means that is false, misleading, deceptive, or likely to create an erroneous impression about its characteristics, health effects, hazards, or emissions; require that warnings accompany all promotion; restrict the use of incentives that encourage purchase; require the disclosure of expenditures by the industry on promotion; restrict promotion on radio, television, print media the Internet; restrict sponsorship of international events. Ensure that product packaging and labelling do not promote a product by any means that are false, misleading, deceptive, or likely to create an erroneous impression about its characteristics, health effects, hazards or emissions, including by any means that directly or indirectly creates the false impression that one product is less harmful than others. These may include terms such as "low tar," "light," "ultra-light," or "mild". (Articles 11 and 13) |
| Bans on price discounts and promotions | No controlled studies / insufficient evidence: only weak studies in general populations of the effect of restrictions on consumption or harm; effectiveness appears to depend on availability of alternative forms of cheap alcohol. | Prohibit distribution of free products. (Article 16 s. 2) |
| Warning labels and signs | Lack of evidence of benefit. Labels and signs raise public awareness but do not change drinking behaviour. | Ensure that each package and any outside packaging and labelling carry health warnings describing the harmful effects and other appropriate messages. (Article 11 s. 1, 3, 4) |
| Information about product on packages | Not mentioned. | Each package and outside packaging and labelling shall contain information on relevant constituents and emissions. (Articles 10 and 11) |