Xenophon supports ban on net tobacco ads

Federal parliament has been told the government needs to play tough against "sneaky" tobacco companies who use the internet to promote their products.

"We must head them off, beat them to the punch," Labor senator Lisa Singh told the upper house on Wednesday.

She was speaking before government legislation passed, making it an offence to advertise tobacco products on the internet, other electronic media and future technologies, unless the advertising complied with Australian legislation or regulations.
Senator Singh said big tobacco was using the virtual world to compensate for a ban on advertising in the traditional media and at retail points of sale.

"There are serious concerns that both online advertising and social networking sites are being used to promote tobacco to young people," she said.

"We know big tobacco are sneaky and we have to play tough in doing that."

Independent senator Nick Xenophon said he strongly supported the government move, but called for online problem gambling to be targeted as well.

"I don't agree (cigarettes) should be promoted as fun or fashionable," he said, adding everyone knew tobacco was highly addictive.

"Everyone knows chemicals in cigarette smoke slowly destroy you from the inside out."

Tobacco companies no longer needed film stars to promote their cigarettes, because people were more likely to relate to messages posted by well-known bloggers and friends who tweeted.

"We can't discount the power of advertising on social networks, where word of mouth can literally spread to thousands of people each time someone updates their status," Senator Xenophon said.

He suggested the government also expand its flagged measure against problem gambling to include internet gambling.

"If the government acknowledges there needs to be greater regulation of internet advertising... then they also need to consider the effect of poorly-regulated gambling activities on the net," he said.

The Tobacco Advertising Prohibition Amendment Bill 2010 now awaits Royal Assent.