Strategies for NCD Risk Factors

Expand and Harmonize Tobacco Advertising Bans to Reduce Demand

Tobacco is a major NCD risk factor common to the region. Most countries’ tobacco policies have advertising bans for national TV, radio, magazines, and newspapers, although most of these bans do not extend to international media (Table 7.1). Only half have policies for warning labels on tobacco packaging.

These inconsistent policies take away from their potential impact, and synergies among them may be lost. This also can lead to big countries, India for example, which can dominate regional culture and politics resulting in large influences, good or bad, in smaller countries that share common borders.

Thus, harmonizing and expanding ban policies would fill country level gaps in policies and address inconsistencies across the region.The rationale for a regional strategy and collaboration is that collective bargaining with media for advertising and industry for tobacco labeling would give smaller countries greater leverage.In addition,wider bans would have the positive externality of limiting second-hand smoke exposure in public spaces.