Tobacco Products (Control of Advertising, Sponsorship and Sales Promotion) Act, 1978

Control of advertising of tobacco products and of sponsorship.

2.—(1) The Minister may make regulations for the control and regulation of—

(a) advertising of tobacco products,

(b) sponsorship,

(c) any other activities which are intended or are likely to promote the sales of tobacco products.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) of this section, regulations under this section may provide for all or any of the following—

(a) the prohibition of particular kinds of advertising of tobacco products,

(b) the prohibition of particular kinds of sponsorship,

(c) the control of the form, content and frequency of advertisements of tobacco products,

(d) the restriction of expenditure on advertising of tobacco products and on sponsorship,

(e) a requirement that an advertisement for a tobacco product (or a particular kind of such an advertisement) shall include a notice or statement (in such form as shall be specified in the regulations) indicating the risk to the health of persons associated with the use of the product,

(f) a requirement that a package, container or wrapper in which a tobacco product (or a particular tobacco product) is packed or offered for sale shall bear a notice or statement (in such form as shall be specified in the regulations) indicating the risk to the health of persons associated with the use of the product,

(g) a requirement that any person engaged in the importation, manufacture, sale, promotion or distribution of tobacco products shall furnish to the Minister such information as the Minister considers necessary for the purposes of this Act,

(h) the prohibition of any offers to sell tobacco products of a particular brand at prices lower than those otherwise obtaining for that brand by making available to persons a coupon or similar document or otherwise,

(i) the prohibition of the sale of tobacco products at prices which are so much lower than those at which tobacco products of a similar type or character are at the material time being sold that the sale at the lower prices constitutes in the opinion of the Minister a sales promotion device,

(j) the prohibition of the use, in relation to the sale or purchase of tobacco products, of vouchers, trading stamps, coupons, premia, tokens or gifts,

(k) the enforcement of regulations under this section by officers of the Minister and by officers of a health board established under the Health Act, 1970 .

(3) Every regulation under this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as practicable after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by either House within the next 21 days on which the House has sat after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to anything previously done under the regulation.