What are some of the lessons learned?
Jurisdictions that have passed this law provide the following suggestions: • When indoor advertising and promotion is banned, the tobacco industry often moves outside and outdoor signs proliferate. Jurisdictions advise banning outdoor as well as indoor signs. • In Saskatchewan, Canada, the only signs dealing with age and tobacco are Government signs. This has effectively removed tobacco industry signage which primarily is a public relations exercise for promoting the industry. In some cases industry signs promote smoking as an “adult thing to do”, which can actually increase youth smoking Jurisdictions advise either allowing only Government signs, preferable since almost any kind of industry sign translates into promotion of the product. If this is not done, the size of sign and size, color and fonts of letters should be regulated. • A partial ban such as restricting the amount of promotion won’t work. A complete ban is needed.
