Glossary A–ZLetter T
Tobacco advertising ban
The tobacco advertising ban prohibits advertising for tobacco products in most media in Germany, and now also in out-of-home advertising.
It is laid down in the Tobacco Products Act and has been extended step by step to heated tobacco products and e-cigarettes. Screens that can be seen from public streets and squares are affected.
For network operators this means that creatives for cigarettes, heated tobacco products, e-cigarettes and refill containers do not belong on screens that face public spaces. The Act provides an exception for the outer surfaces of specialist retailers' business premises. Advertising that shows tobacco products only indirectly, for instance through brand logos, can also fall under the ban.
It becomes difficult with screens in shop windows, arcades or stations that are half inside and half outside. Operators should therefore treat tobacco and related products as a category of their own in creative review and, if in doubt, reject them or seek legal advice. The exclusion should also apply to creatives bought through automated trading.