Cigarette ads would be banned from international sports events

Commissioner for Health David Byrne said the advert ban aimed to reduce the number of smokers in EU countries and particularly to prevent young people from taking up the habit.

"Tobacco is a highly addictive product and over 80% of smokers begin before the age of 18 years," he said.

One in three adults in the 15 EU member states is a smoker, against one in five in the United States.

Smoking kills over 500,000 EU citizens every year.

Immune from challenge

"The correlation between tobacco advertising and consumption is significant," Mr Byrne said. "It tends to produce an image of acceptability and good living."

Although most EU states have their own restrictions on advertising and TV adverts are banned across the union, tobacco advertising makes up 3% of the EU's advertising trade.

Mr Byrne said that the proposals were designed to be immune from the kind of court challenge launched last year by the tobacco industry.

He said he hoped they would be in force by 2004.