Dr. Helen McAvoy:

This will assist.

The tobacco industry referred to packages as mobile billboards in terms of their utility as a means of instilling brand identity and ideas about their products. New studies from the United Kingdom conducted by Professor John Britten show that product placement and indirect advertising of tobacco products in movies and television programmes watched by young people are on the increase substantially. Product placement is a great way to get one's mobile billboard on the screen. One may not have it on one's table in the café or in schools but we need to be very careful about this. What I describe is the new strategy for advertising. Data are available from the United Kingdom to indicate product placement of tobacco in the films and media young people are watching is on the increase. This is very difficult to handle because we live in a multimedia world. Children have content on their telephones by way of social media and they see movies, but the tobacco industry would not be quite so keen to show standardised packaging in a movie.

Points were made on progress on the island by Deputy Mary Mitchell O'Connor. Minister Poots indicated very recently that the legislative consent motion is due to be debated through the UK Children and Families Bill but at least the North is in the fray in that the amendments could apply to it. Minister Poots has indicated his commitment to addressing tobacco-related harm in any way he can. We are moving towards having a united view on that across the island.

Reference was made to the programmes in California, Canada and Australia. The point reinforces the fact that the more comprehensive the programme, the better the results. I will be very interested in seeing the outcome regarding the proposal to have a minimum age of 21 and I will keep every close eye on its effectiveness as a measure.