AUGUST 4, 2006

Bahrain moves to stop tobacco advertising

Bahrain's Health Ministry is planning to sign up to the World Health Organisation's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control before the end of the year. This means that a complete ban on cigarette and tobacco advertising will follow - it is just a matter of how long that takes to implement. There are some countries that have sign the treaty and have yet to complete the necessary legislation but gradually they are falling into line because of the international pressure. It may take five years for the work to be completed in Bahrain but as most of the tobacco companies are packing up at the end of the year it is less important than once it was. The only team that plans to have tobacco backing the future - but without overt branding - is Ferrari, which will maintain its current look and advertise racing cars on the cigarette packets to maintain the long-established link.