Clause 4 - Advertising: exclusions
Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Bill
3:15 pm
Mr Ian Bruce (South Dorset, Conservative)
I support my hon. Friend's argument in favour of the amendment. If we are trying to restrict the provision of useful information to smokers about how they can reduce their health risk, compiling a database of smokers, who have already taken some proactive action by asking for information, is a sensible way in which to control the flow of information. By removing that, we are, in effect, saying to the tobacco industry, ``You will just have to keep finding ways in which to get people to respond to advertisements.'' I am not even sure whether phrases such as ``If you would like some information about this particular product,'' can be classed as an advertisement to promote tobacco products.
People will be continuously persuaded to contact tobacco companies. One way in which the company can ensure that people ask for information is to put a request form inside a cigarette packet. That is a sensible way to pass on information, because the person has already bought the cigarettes. It makes common sense that names should not have to be deleted from a database of people who have asked to be kept informed of offers, especially when all the other requirements of keeping databases are in place.