Germans Expect Layoffs in Wake of EU Tobacco Ruling

Health ministers from 13 of the 15 European Union countries voted to ban cigarette ads in member states on Monday.

The directive, which will come into effect by July 31, 2005, at the latest, forbids tobacco advertising in newspapers, magazines, radio broadcasts and on the Internet. Only Germany and Britain opposed the legislation.

Germany's Social Democrat- and Greens-led government criticized the decision, insisting the directive oversteps the EU's jurisdiction. It is questionable "whether the EU has a mandate to intervene in national advertising markets," said Alexander Müller, a spokesman for the Ministry of Agriculture and Consumer Protection. Still, the government "supports all EU and international efforts to reduce the negative health effects of smoking," she said.

"Echoing the tobacco industry"

Germany has a record of resisting limits to the tobacco industry. Two years ago, it successfully blocked application of similar restrictions at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg.

In October, Germany was awarded the Marlboro Man Award from the anti-tobacco organization NATT for "echoing tobacco industry arguments" at UN Framework Convention on Tobacco Control talks in Geneva.

Germany now has 50 days to appeal to the European Court of Justice to stop the directive. Diplomats are assessing whether to undertake legal action.

But this time the EU's Health Commissioner isn't worried about the prospect of German legal action. Thorsten Münch, a spokesman for the Commissioner, said the directive is "legally water-tight."

Close to 18 million Germans are considered "smokers." Per year they spend €21 billion ($20.93 billion) to support their habits. The German state rakes in more than half of that, with €14 million ($13.96 million) in taxes on cigarette sales yearly.

Criticism from Germany

Critics of the legislation focus on two issues: The loss of revenues that will ensue from banning advertising and the fear that this is only the beginning of a possible wave of advertising bans that could be applied to alcohol or children's toys, for instance.

The already ailing German newspaper industry, too, will have to forsake millions of euros in advertising. Tobacco advertising accounted for around €40 million ($39.87 million) last year.

Volker Nickel, head of the German Advertising Federation (ZAW), says the ban could threaten up to 10,000 jobs. "Cigarettes are legal products and you must be able to advertise for legal products," he told the Berliner Zeitung newspaper. The German Union of Newspaper Publishers even went so far as to declare the ban a move against press freedom.

"Scandalous behavior"

Meanwhile, the German Medical Association (BÄK) welcomed the directive and criticized the government's position. "The government's behavior is scandalous, " said the BÄK President Jörg-Dietrich Hoppe. "It is irresponsible to place the interests of individual business branches above the health of the population. We cannot smoke the economy healthy," he added, referring to Germany's current economic slump.

Formula One

The directive also calls for banning tobacco advertising from EU international events like concerts, soccer games and Formula One racing. Walter Karfitz, managing director of the Nürnburgring Grand Prix track, said in a German radio interview that European Formula One tracks will indeed be weakened. But he added that it wouldn't likely jeopardize the continued existence of the popular sport.

Old news for much of EU

All EU states already limit tobacco advertising. Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and the United Kingdom have entirely forbidden it, while the remaining EU member states have enacted partial bans. Tobacco advertising on TV and radio is forbidden in Germany.