Two-thirds of citizens favour tobacco advertising ban

More than two-thirds of Germans are in favour of a complete ban on advertising for tobacco products, a study released have showed.

Sixty-nine per cent of respondents to a survey commissioned by the German Insurance Association (said they would favour a ban, while only 27 per cent said they were against it.

A slightly smaller majority of 58 per cent said they would welcome a ban on alcohol advertising, with 36 per cent of respondents against it.

A majority of 75 per cent said they would welcome higher taxes on tobacco and 59 per cent said the same for alcohol.

The survey included a representative sample of 1,003 people over the age of 18, who were interviewed by the Forsa research institute between Feb. 4 and Feb. 8.

In Germany, a debate about advertising harmful substances has been continuing apace for several years.

Under the previous government of Chancellor Angela Merkel, an attempt to enshrine a ban on tobacco advertising in law failed due to opposition from her conservative bloc.