Clause 9 - Prohibition of Sponsorship
Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Bill
4:45 pm
Mrs Caroline Spelman (Meriden, Conservative)
The hon. Gentleman's argument is predicated on the fact that something was signed, but it may not always have been signed, since the Bill contains no requirement that it should be. An agreement could be purely verbal. In such a case, it could be very unclear—and very difficult to prove in a court of law what was actually said as part of that agreement.
My desire is entirely to help the Government. I see a big loophole, and I would be the first to say that when all conventional methods of advertising are shut down, product placement remains an important instrument. As far as I can see, at the moment, we have very little control in this country. Many films are produced out of the United Kingdom. Some of the greatest blockbusters are produced in Hollywood, and are not governed by constraint of the type in the Bill, but they are shown in British cinemas up and down the land and contain strong subliminal images about tobacco and tobacco products.
We are often consumed as we look at the Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman characters—and I was sorry to hear today that they are splitting up. Non-smokers are less affected, but it is sometimes possible to watch a film all over again from the perspective of product placement, and it is extraordinary how often a big poster pops up as a backdrop to the superstars. Did they know that they would find themselves standing in front of a socking great advertisement for branded cigarettes? We do not know. Was it part of their agreement to stand in front of it? It is all very unclear and ill-defined. We want to help the Government to deal with this major loophole. There is no doubt that advertising can have a big impact on the young, who are highly susceptible to it. As drafted, however, I doubt whether the clause will be effective in practice.
Amendment No. 39 is coupled with amendment No. 41, which deals with a different problem. It is designed to strike a balance on what is achievable in terms of constraining advertising through sponsorship agreements. Under clause 9(1):
``A person who is party to a sponsorship agreement is guilty of an offence''
if the purpose or effect of the sponsorship
``is to promote a tobacco product in the United Kingdom.''
That much is clear. What happens, though, when Bernie Ecclestone is sitting in his London headquarters agreeing to a deal with Marlboro to sponsor the Monaco grand prix? If photographs from that meeting appeared in United Kingdom magazines, would it be an offence under the clause? The new subsection makes it clear that sponsorship deals negotiated in the United Kingdom that do not relate to UK events are not covered by the rule when the photographs are incidental and not expressly published for the purpose of tobacco promotion.
Surely the Government do not want to drive international businesses out of the country for fear of accidentally committing this offence in connection with overseas events broadcast in the UK. Amendment No. 41 would prevent that. Formula 1 is international business and there is no getting away from it. There are 16 races in the year and if tobacco is to be banned only in this country, its impact on the image transfer from Formula 1 to tobacco—I accept the analysis that links them, particularly with respect to the young—will, frankly, be minimal. That the glamorous image of sport transfers to tobacco products is proven by market research, but—