Directive 2003/33 - Approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to the advertising and sponsorship of tobacco products - Main contents

official title

 

Legal instrument	Directive
Number legal act	Directive 2003/33
Original proposal	COM(2001)283
CELEX number i	32003L0033

Avis juridique important

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Directive 2003/33/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 May 2003 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to the advertising and sponsorship of tobacco products (Text with EEA relevance)

Official Journal L 152 , 20/06/2003 P. 0016 - 0019

Directive 2003/33/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council

of 26 May 2003

on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to the advertising and sponsorship of tobacco products

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Articles 47(2), 55 and 95 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission(1),

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee(2),

After consulting the Committee of the Regions,

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty(3),

Whereas:

• (1) 

  There are differences between the Member States' laws, regulations and administrative provisions on the advertising of tobacco products and related sponsorship. Such advertising and sponsorship in certain cases crosses the borders of the Member States or involves events organised on an international level, and are activities to which Article 49 of the Treaty applies. The differences in national legislation are likely to give rise to increasing barriers to the free movement between Member States of the products or services that serve as the support for such advertising and sponsorship. In the case of press advertising, certain obstacles have already been encountered. In the case of sponsorship, distortions of the conditions of competition are likely to increase and have already been noted as regards the organisation of certain major sporting and cultural events.

• (2) 

  Those barriers should be eliminated and, to this end, the rules relating to the advertising of tobacco products and related sponsorship should in specific cases be approximated. In particular, there is a need to specify the extent to which tobacco advertising in certain categories of publications is allowed.

• (3) 

  Article 95(3) of the Treaty requires the Commission, in its proposals for the establishment and functioning of the Internal Market concerning health, to take as a base a high level of protection. Within their respective powers, the European Parliament and the Council also seek to achieve this objective. The legislation of the Member States to be approximated is intended to protect public health by regulating the promotion of tobacco, an addictive product responsible for over half a million deaths in the Community annually, thereby avoiding a situation where young people begin smoking at an early age as a result of promotion and become addicted.

• (4) 

  The circulation in the Internal Market of publications such as periodicals, newspapers and magazines is subject to an appreciable risk of obstacles to free movement as a result of Member States' laws, regulations and administrative provisions which prohibit or regulate tobacco advertising in those media. In order to ensure free circulation throughout the Internal Market for all such media, it is necessary to limit tobacco advertising therein to those magazines and periodicals which are not intended for the general public such as publications intended exclusively for professionals in the tobacco trade and to publications printed and published in third countries, that are not principally intended for the Community market.

• (5) 

  The laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to certain types of sponsorship for the benefit of tobacco products with cross-border effects give rise to an appreciable risk of distortion of the...

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