ABSTRACT
Norway and Finland have prohibited tobacco advertising for many years, yet total smoking has not changed in the former and increased slightly in the latter country. The UK, Belgium and the Netherlands, which have allowed more advertising in recent decades, have seen a decline in smoking over the same period. Indeed, there has been a 28 per cent reduction in smoking in the past fifteen years in Belgium, some of which may be attributable to the banning of image (not brand) advertising such as the rugged Marlboro cowboy eight years ago. So it appears that the relationship between advertising and tobacco consumption is not straightforward.
