EU threat to sue over tobacco ban

The European Commission said today it may sue Italy, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Spain unless they promise within two months to properly enforce an EU ban on tobacco advertising that was adopted in 2003.

EU Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner Markos Kyprianou said: “The commission has zero tolerance for allowing tobacco sponsorship.”

The EU law, that took effect in 2005, bans tobacco advertising in conventional media and on the internet, and prohibits tobacco sponsorship of cross-border cultural or other events.

It said Italy did not apply it on such events in Italy though they may be broadcast elsewhere. The Czech Republic and Spain have unnecessarily delayed the ban, while Hungary exempts it from events deemed to be of “exceptional” economic importance, Kyprianou said.

The European Commission has already taken Germany to the EU high court for not properly enacting the EU ban.