Tobacco promotion restrictions - An international regulatory impasse?

The promotion of tobacco products has received detailed attention. However, this research has focussed on the effects of tobacco advertising or sponso rship, and how restrictions on promotion activities affect demand. By contr ast, comparatively few studies have examined the regulatory implications of variations in the guidelines or statutes governing tobacco promotions. In this paper we analyse the issues arising from inconsistencies in internatio nal tobacco promotion regulations and the proposals designed to address the se. We conclude that because the development and application of consistent regulations infringes on the economic interests and traditions of civil lib erties in some nations, the prospects for implementing internationally adhe red to protocols is gloomy. A more practical solution may be to control the conditions of sale of tobacco products as these are more readily circumscr ibed by domestic regulation.