Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Tobacco Act 1987 - SECT 3B

Tobacco advertisements

3B. Tobacco advertisements



(1) Subject to this section, for the purposes of this Act, a tobacco
advertisement is any writing, still or moving picture, sign, symbol or other
visual image, or any audible message, or any combination of 2 or more of those
things, that gives publicity to, or otherwise promotes or is intended to
promote-

   (a)  smoking; or





   (b)  the purchase or use of a tobacco product or a range of tobacco
        products; or

   (c)  the whole or a part of a trade mark that is registered under the Trade
        Marks Act 1955 of the Commonwealth in respect of goods that are or
        include tobacco products; or

   (d)  the whole or a part of a design that is registered under the
        Designs Act 2003 of the Commonwealth in relation to products that are
        or include tobacco products; or

   (e)  the whole or a part of the name of a person-

   (i)  who is a manufacturer of tobacco products; and

   (ii) whose name appears on, or on the packaging of, some or all of those
        products; or

   (f)  any other words (for example the whole or a part of a brand name) or
        designs, or combination of words and designs, that are closely
        associated with a tobacco product or a range of tobacco products
        (whether also closely associated with other kinds of products).

(2) A reference in subsection (1) to a visual image or a design includes a
reference to an image or design consisting of a colour or a scheme of colours.

(3) Without limiting subsection (1), a tobacco advertisement includes-

   (a)  the display of an immediate package of a tobacco product;

   (b)  the advertisement of cigarette papers.



(4) Words, signs or symbols that appear as part of the standard wording of an
invoice, statement, order form, letterhead, business card, cheque, manual, or
other document, ordinarily used in the normal course of the business of a
manufacturer, distributor or retailer of tobacco products (a business
document) do not, when so appearing, constitute a tobacco advertisement (but
this does not prevent a still or moving picture, or other visual image, of a
tobacco product, of the packaging of a tobacco product, or of a business
document, from being a tobacco advertisement).

(5) Words, signs or symbols that appear in or on land or buildings occupied by
a manufacturer of tobacco products do not, when so appearing, constitute a
tobacco advertisement (but this does not prevent a still or moving picture, or
other visual image, of words, signs or symbols that so appear from being a
tobacco advertisement).

(6) For the avoidance of doubt, the taking of any action to prevent a product
from causing injury to anyone, including action-

   (a)  to recall a product; or

   (b)  to disclose a defect in, or a dangerous characteristic of, a product;
        or

   (c)  to disclose circumstances in which the use of a product is or may be
        dangerous; or

   (d)  to disclose procedures for disposing of a product-

does not constitute a tobacco advertisement.

(7) If-

   (a)  apart from this subsection, something (the advertisement) would,
        technically, be a tobacco advertisement; and

   (b)  it is clear from the advertisement that its sole or principal purpose
        is to discourage smoking or the use of tobacco products-

then, despite subsection (1), the advertisement is not a tobacco advertisement
for the purposes of this Act.

(8) In this section-

words includes abbreviations, initials and numbers.