"It's always an image issue, too, whether we advertisers want to be 'hustlers' of the tobacco industry"

Question: Do you think tobacco advertising that reaches children and young people should be banned in Switzerland?

Michael Hählen, President Leading Swiss Agencies (LSA) and CEO of In Flagranti Communication: In my opinion, the initiative unfortunately misuses a legitimate issue. Obviously, the initiators want to put pressure on an ongoing parliamentary discussion with a radical demand. In doing so, they use a populist formulation to prevent a well-founded discussion of how we deal with addictive behavior and addictive substances in our society. Both are of least use to those who are at stake: young people, who should learn how to deal with cravings, consumption, pleasure and addictive substances.

Donato Cermusoni, Managing Director and co-owner of the Cermusoni Agency: Advertising should be effective. This means that tobacco advertising for children and young people should encourage them to smoke. Studies have shown that smoking starts at this age. Every advertiser must decide for himself or herself morally whether he or she wants to promote this. I am therefore of the opinion that the ban makes sense.

Flavia Nicolai, Head of Content Marketing & Media, Swiss Cancer League: Yes. Tobacco consumption is detrimental to health. Eight out of ten cases of lung cancer, for example, are attributable to tobacco. However, the cancer-causing substances in smoke damage not only the lungs, but the entire body. This is why smokers are several times more likely to develop other types of cancer, such as cancer of the oral cavity, larynx, esophagus, pancreas or bladder, than non-smokers of the same age. The associated suffering for those affected and the resulting massive economic costs allow no other conclusion than that there is no longer any place for tobacco advertising.

The vast majority of smokers (57%) start using tobacco under the age of 18. Tobacco advertising has been proven to have a major influence on this age group. The popular initiative aims to prevent children and adolescents from being exposed to the influence of tobacco advertising. They should be able to develop healthily. Therefore, the Cancer League supports the popular initiative.

Ivan Zumbühl, Managing Director Syn, Agency for Design and Communication ASW: The tobacco industry imposed a communicative self-restraint on the target group of children and adolescents years ago. This has proven itself to this day and is completely sufficient.

Roger Koch, Head of Marketing, Home: The fact that children and adolescents should not be encouraged to smoke is undisputed by everyone who is in their right mind. And that is why a corresponding regulation was already anchored in the Tobacco Ordinance in 2004. It states: "Advertising for tobacco products and for smoking products with tobacco substitutes that is specifically aimed at young people under the age of 18 (adolescents) is prohibited". (TabV, Art. 18). This is therefore by no means a new concern. It has already been regulated by law for a long time. There is no need to tighten it up.

Roland Ehrler, Director, Swiss Advertising Association SWA/ASA: In principle, advertising for legally available products and services should not be banned. There are already enough restrictions to protect children and young people and, in addition, the tobacco industry has imposed far-reaching self-restrictions on itself.

Editors: Ann-Kathrin Kübler, Thomas Häusermann

More answers to questions such as: What kind of restrictions in advertising make sense to protect young people from tobacco advertising and what consequences an adoption of the initiative would have for the advertising industry in this country, you can read in the current issue of Werbewoche 11/2018.

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