Comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship (TAPS) are known to be effective measures to reduce smoking prevalence. Thus, the FCTC calls for comprehensive TAPS bans. However, more than ten years after the FCTC came into force and despite efforts to harmonize advertising regulations at the EU-level, there is quite some heterogeneity with regards to TAPS legislation in Europe, leading to considerable country-differences in TAPS exposure. In this presentation, findings from eight European countries participating in the ITC project (i.e., Germany, Greece, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain, United Kingdom) will be presented. Prevalence of self-reported exposure to TAPS at different sites (TV, radio, print, online, billboards, point-of-sale) will be shown, with a special focus on differential exposure of vulnerable groups. Finally, associations between TAPS exposure and quitting-related outcomes (quit intentions, quit attempts) will be presented.

Funding This work was supported by a grant from the European Commission (Horizon2020 HCO-6-2015; EUREST-PLUS: 681109).