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Seven News breaches license with cut price cigarettes

A story on cut price cigarettes aired on Seven News in Adelaide has the network in hot water with the media watchdog.

A story on cut price cigarettes aired on Seven News in Adelaide has the network in hot water with the media watchdog.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority found that SAS Channel Seven Adelaide Pty Ltd breached its licence condition because its news story in July 2010 story identified imported tobacco products on sale in Coles supermarkets.

The Tobacco Advertising Prohibition Act has prohibited the broadcasting of tobacco ads in Australia since 1993.

ACMA’s investigation found the segment contravened the TAP Act because it gave publicity to the purchase or use of tobacco products and was not covered by any of the allowable exceptions in that legislation.

Amongst their defenses to ACMA, Seven says it did not contravene the TAP Act because it had no intention to broadcast a tobacco advertisement in the segment. But ACMA’s findings included that Seven’s broadcast of the tobacco wasn’t accidental or incidental and decreed it a breach of its licence condition.

Seven Adelaide has now begun proceedings in the Federal Court to review ACMA’s finding.

10 Responses

  1. I’ll admit I’m now slightly embarrassed by my suggestions. Mainly that I know not everyone would need them. Including people working for Sven. Also I tried to write them to people that are ethically challenged. But my feeling still stands. That what was done was wrong. I really don’t care if it was illegal or not. Although it was illegal. It just is wrong to advertise on television or even potentially tell children where to get cheap cigarettes. No ifs or buts about the issue.

  2. My second and much shorter piece of advice. If you truly want to help smokers. Then ask experts what’s the best methods of quitting cigarettes. Also if there are any new tricks. It’s not a sexy or sensationalist story but it just might help someone get off the nasty habit. You could also point out it’s also the cheapest option of all. Because not spending money on cigarettes means you have it for other things. But really it could save some lives.

  3. I’ve decided to give free advice to Seven or anyone else how to handle such stories in future. If you want to investigate cheap cigarettes. That’s not a problem if you know what angle to cover it from. Why not the we are concerned about this angle.

    So you have your researches go to a whole bunch of retailers. Say on air you went to X amount. X being the amount of retailers you went to. You then say how many had imported cheap cigarettes. You don’t name them directly.

    Now then cover if cheap imports are illegal. If not ask why not? If so then ask what are the relevant authorities going to do about it? Then take your story to the relevant authorities and do follow up stories on what they are or are not doing about it.

    So: a) You didn’t do anything illegal yourself.
    b) You help the authorities with the problem.
    c) You didn’t name the retailers directly so presumably aren’t directly biting the hand that feeds you.
    d) Aren’t telling kids where they can buy cheap cigarettes. I assume many of you have children. Would you like strangers or even people known to them telling them where they can buy stuff they could get addicted to and die horribly from? I hope not.
    P.S. Sorry about the length David.

  4. With the weak authority we have now… Why not.

    Stations can do what they like with impunity.

    Why don’t they tackle them for breach of programming regulations for the amount of commercials in an allotted time with the same zeal ??!!

  5. Has it really taken nearly two years for ACMA to conclude this? They are either massively under-resourced or inefficient. Hopefully the new “super-authority” will address this rather than simply moving the problem.

  6. Why do they need to mention it Fiveaa were broadcasting the same thing about the cheep ciggerates as channel 7 made makes my suspicions

  7. Why does Seven want to waste money on legal bills? Although maybe they should and that will be the punishment for advertising where smokers can kill themselves for cheaper prices. Next are they going to list the most effective suicide methods?

    And by the way I do often watch Seven News. I guess luckily not the Adelaide version as it would make me consider changing channels permanently if I saw that story in Melbourne.

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