SW questions World Bank study

In discussions about advertising bans, advocates often refer to a World Bank study according to which restrictions would reduce cigarette consumption by 6 percent.tobacco advertising Piero Schäfer, Head of Communications at the Swiss Advertising Association, took a closer look at the World Bank report and now criticizes "quite a few inconsistencies" in a press release. Although disclaimers are common nowadays for liability reasons, Schäfer is bothered by the fact that the World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data contained in the publication. The three and a half pages devoted to "cigarette advertising" and "sales promotion" proved to be rather vague on closer inspection. They merely quote from previously published studies without carefully identifying them or explaining the methods. With a little Internet research, however, Werbewoche was able to easily locate the studies. They come from the American economics professor Henry Saffer, and some of the authors of the World Bank report were also involved. The report "Curbing the Epidemic : Governments and the Economics of Tobacco Control" is available in English and French at www.worldbank.org/tobacco.