When did this happen? When I was in Munich a few years back there were poster ads for cigarettes everywhere. I remember them being not very subtle about their “smoking is cool” message.
Tobacco ads are generally banned on Radio, TV, Print and the Web with some exceptions. Outdoor advertising is still very much allowed, Germany is the only EU country that allows this.
Btw manufacturers (not the merchants though) are still allowed to hand out free cigarettes.
I think there is some rule that the cigarette ads need to be targeted to smokers and not to non-smokers. As in Marlboro can try to make ads to convince Gauloises smokers to buy Marlboro on their next purchase instead of their usual brand but wouldn’t be allowed to make ads for non smokers to get hooked. (As if it would work That way)
Ads for cigarettes have been banned in Europe for a long time, thats why there is zero tobacco in Formula 1. In Denmark its now illegal to show the tobacco in the store, it has to be hidden
True in the UK too. Cigarette adverts were banned forever ago. Then they stopped displaying them in the store. Now, if I'm not mistaken (I don't smoke), they don't even display branding on the packets - the packets have a very plain, uniform design with no flashy colours or logos.
Btw manufacturers (not the merchants though) are still allowed to hand out free cigarettes.