Just over 50 years ago, the last cigarette commercial aired on American television. It marked the end of an era where tobacco companies could freely advertise their products despite knowing the devastating health effects they caused. Today, we face a similar watershed moment with fossil fuel advertising.
As world leaders gather in Azerbaijan for COP29, we should be stressing the parallels between Big Tobacco’s marketing tactics and those of the fossil fuel industry are striking. Both industries have spent decades promoting products they knew were harmful, while simultaneously casting doubt on scientific evidence. Both have used sophisticated marketing to associate their products with freedom, success, and adventure. And both have targeted younger generations to secure future customers.
The tobacco advertising ban has saved countless lives. Research shows that restricting tobacco advertising and sponsorships has been one of the most effective tools in reducing smoking rates, particularly among young people. Now, as we face a climate emergency, isn’t it time we apply the same logic to fossil fuel advertising?
The Science is Clear
The scientific consensus on climate change is overwhelming. Fossil fuels are the primary driver of global warming, leading to rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and the disruption of ecosystems. The consequences are already evident and will only worsen if we continue on this path.
When you see an SUV commercial showing a vehicle powering through a sleek city centre or a family’s home being kept toasty by a gas boiler, consider the irony: the very products are being advertised are contributing to that areas poor air quality, smog stained buildings and premature deaths. These advertisements normalise and glorify the use of fossil fuels at a time when we need to be rapidly transitioning away from them.
Companies who promote fossil fuel powered products should not be allowed to greenwash their products or downplay their environmental impact. Just as cigarette packages now carry health warnings, perhaps it’s time for fossil fuel product advertisements – if allowed at all – to carry climate impact warnings.
Several countries and cities are already moving in this direction. Amsterdam, The Hague, and UK cities have banned fossil fuel advertising in public spaces. France requires automotive advertisements to promote more sustainable transport alternatives. These are steps in the right direction, but we need to go further.
This isn’t about limiting consumer choice – it’s about ensuring that the choices consumers make are based on accurate information, not misleading marketing.
The energy transition is inevitable. The question is whether we make this transition fast enough to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. By ending fossil fuel advertising, we can accelerate this transition and help create a cleaner, healthier future for all.
The end of tobacco advertising marked the beginning of a healthier future. The end of fossil fuel advertising could mark the beginning of a more sustainable one. The time for change is now.
If you agree, please sign the petition to Ban on Fossil Fuel Advertising at COP29 here: https://chng.it/ZwsQLdKQyW
* Mark Hofman has been a Councillor on Watford Borough Council since 2012.
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8 Comments
And all those holiday adverts.
Excellent article! Thank you Mr. Hofman!
Might it help the survival of a habitable planet and an equitable society to have the taxing of the less informative, merely persuasive, advertising of conspicuous consumption and conspicuous leisure?
“When a society becomes distracted and/or absorbed by advertising and other trivia, when serious personal and public communications become a form of small or advert talk, when, in short,a society becomes merely an audience of exploited consumers, and matters of serious importance, such as elections, are presented as game shows, might we be in serious danger of being advertised to debt and, probably death.”
Buying a packet of Cigarettes for a tenner , is different from owning a vehicle. People make a choice on what they can afford . No amount of advertising on the latest SUV , can replace somebody buying a car for 2K, as a necessity to get to work.
Our world is set up for those who have. It is unsustainable, unequal and those with he £2k car are not considered let alone catered for
Well we do need to be mindful of the MIT research, which validated the 1970’s forecasts and which in turn was revalidated with 2021 economic data and because it confirms an inconvenient truth hasbeen brushed under the carpet, climate change is only one element of the perfect storm: there is no future for circa 12 billion people at current and accelerating levels of consumption beyond circa 2040…
I remember years ago there was an anti-smoking advert showing a bullet on one side, and a cigarette on the other, with the phrases “fast” and “slow” to illustrate that one would kill you quickly, and the other slowly.
We struggle to grasp the full danger of fossil fuel reliant products and services because while we might intellectually accept they are already killing our natural environment – they are socially acceptable and the harm is incremental and collective. We convince ourselves that our personal role, or the particular action we are considering, will have negligible impact, and doing something different requires effort, and sometimes short term expense. Perhaps more insidiously, society tells us that individuals who do more than the socially accepted minimum are a bit weird.
I’ve no idea how successful the above anti-smoking advert was. Smoking becoming less fashionable was key to younger people not smoking. Only in old films will we see a Hollywood heart-throb lighting up. In modern films they drive overly powerful gas guzzlers.
We’re not yet able to go cold turkey on fossil fuels, but we should recognise the harm of our addiction, and not let the oil & gas and related industries dictate what is or is not possible as we work to gain our freedom from them.
As a species, we don’t seem to realise how susceptible we are to outside influences. Mass advertising that supports climate change and its cause should be banned globally. It is disappointing how long it takes our regulators to realise what harm they are causing and act accordingly.
>” When you see an SUV commercial showing a vehicle powering through a sleek city centre or a family’s home being kept toasty by a gas boiler, consider the irony: the very products are being advertised are contributing to that areas poor air quality, smog stained buildings and premature deaths.”
These days the adverts for SUVs are greenwash; that EV SUV isn’t really going to make much of an impact due to the fossil fuels and resources needed for its manufacture and fuel (aka electricity) production. The case for EVs always was about the exhaust pipe cocktail of gases and particulates and urban air quality; not about reducing energy consumption – something Covid lockdown demonstrated would require a transformation in our thinking and behaviours.