Council of the European Union and European Parliament 6 July 1998, Directive 98/43/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 1998 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to the advertising and sponsorship of tobacco products

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Directive 98/43/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, adopted on 6 July 1998 under Articles 57(2), 66, and 100a of the EC Treaty, aims to approximate Member States' laws on tobacco advertising and sponsorship in order to eliminate barriers to the internal market and distortions of competition. The Directive imposes a comprehensive ban on all forms of advertising and sponsorship of tobacco products within the Community, with limited exceptions for trade communications, point-of-sale presentation, and third-country publications not principally intended for the Community market, while permitting Member States to adopt stricter national measures for health protection purposes. Member States were required to transpose the Directive by 30 July 2001, with deferred implementation of up to one year for press advertising and two years for sponsorship, and an exceptional extension of up to three years for existing world-level sponsored events, subject to decreasing expenditure and voluntary-restraint measures, ending no later than 1 October 2006.AI