On June 26 the RA National Assembly having held the second hearing, finally adopted the RA Law "On Introducing Amendments and Additions to the RA Law ‘On Advertising’". According to the amendments passed, from now on in Armenia the advertising of strong alcoholic beverages (with the exception of cognac) and tobacco goods in the electronic media is banned. The veto refers also to the placement of the advertisement of alcoholic beverages and tobacco on the first and last pages of the newspapers, the cover, the first and last pages of magazines. According to the same document, at least 10% of the advertising of tobacco goods in the print media, the outdoor posters, announcements, billboards, electronic boards, other technical means and transportation vehicles, must contain warning information on the damage caused by smoking.
In the opinion of the heads of some electronic media of Armenia, this ban will greatly harm their pockets, poor as they currently are. The advertising actually never flows, it rather drips to our media. According to the Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Issues, Health and Environment Gagik Tadevosian, the World Health Organization intends to assist the anti-smoking and anti-alcohol public service announcements placements in the Armenian air, yet it is quiet questionable whether this organization will be able to compensate for the losses incurred by the broadcast media.
The efforts of our deputies to protect the health of the nation would have been quite laudable, but for the exception provided for by the Law. Why does the ban on advertising strong alcoholic beverages bypass cognac? Is this drink out of the strong beverage class? Or does its use not harm the health of the nation for the simple reason it is our national brand? The answer is obvious: someone is very eager to protect the interests of someone else.
