The answer is a single sentence: yes, the ban is absolute. Article 11/1 of Law No. 6112 reads: “Commercial communication shall not be permitted in any way for alcohol and tobacco products.” The Law contains no exception based on hour, duration, channel type or an age warning.
How wide “commercial communication” is
In Law No. 6112 commercial communication is an umbrella covering advertising, teleshopping, programme sponsorship and product placement. The ban in Article 11/1 therefore closes four channels at once.
| Form of commercial communication | Alcohol and tobacco | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Advertising | Prohibited | Art. 11/1 |
| Teleshopping | Prohibited | Art. 11/1 |
| Programme sponsorship | Prohibited | Art. 11/1 + Art. 12/3 (producers or sellers of products whose commercial communication is prohibited may not sponsor programmes) |
| Product placement | Prohibited | Art. 11/1 + Art. 13/5 (products whose commercial communication is prohibited may not be used in product placement) |
Articles 12/3 and 13/5 are two bridges to Article 11. The legislature expressly blocked circumvention of the ban through sponsorship or product placement.
A second layer on the content side
The ban is not limited to commercial communication. Under Article 8/1(h) broadcasting services may not be “of a nature encouraging the use of addictive substances such as alcohol, tobacco products and narcotics, or the playing of games of chance”. That applies to programme content as well: presenting alcohol use in an encouraging way in a series or entertainment programme breaches Article 8/1(h).
Medicines: a three-tier regime
Alongside alcohol and tobacco, Article 11 governs commercial communication for medicines and treatments, and there the regime is graduated rather than an absolute ban.
| Item | Rule | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Prescription medicines and treatments | Commercial communication may not be made | Art. 11/2 |
| Non-prescription medicines and treatments | Advertising is possible; it must be prepared within the principle of honesty and consist of elements that reflect the truth and are capable of verification | Art. 11/3 |
| Medicines and medical treatments | Teleshopping is not permitted | Art. 11/4 |
Article 11/4 is striking: a non-prescription medicine may be advertised, yet selling the same medicine by teleshopping is prohibited. This distinction between advertising and sales channel is often missed.
Sponsorship by medicinal product companies: partly open
The second sentence of Article 12/3 strikes a fine balance: where natural or legal persons producing, marketing or selling medicinal products, or marketing or providing medical treatments, sponsor a programme, “the name, brand, logo or image of those persons may be used in the programme sponsorship; however, prescription medicinal products or medical treatments produced or sold by them may not be used”.
So a pharmaceutical company may sponsor a programme and its corporate identity may appear on screen; its prescription product may not.
Health claims: a separate and grave prohibition
Article 8/4, added in 2017, imposes a separate ban for non-medicinal products: radio and television broadcasting services may not include “the sale, marketing and/or advertising of any product with a health claim contrary to its own legislation, including food supplements and similar supporting products”. A breach of Article 8/4 sits in the grave group under Article 32/1 and, under Article 32/5, a repetition leads directly into the broadcast suspension and licence revocation ladder.
Health claims are covered in the health claims guide and sponsorship limits in the sponsorship guide.