Brussels, 22/04/2002 (Agence Europe) - The hearing on banning tobacco advertising that was organised last week by the European Parliament's Legal Committee demonstrated that the usual divisions remain over this issue. The medical world calling for greater measures to be taken against smoking is pitted, as ever, against industry and its talk of loss of jobs. Alexander Macara (Standing Committee of European Doctors) said that tobacco was responsible for more than half a million deaths a year in Europe and it was the Community's duty to combat this. Luk Jossens (European Anti-Cancer Leagues) called for a complete ban covering indirect advertising. Michiel Reerink (Imperial Tobacco) wanted responsible advertising only targeting adults to be authorised, while Guy Dutreix (European Tobacco Industries Group) completely opposed any ban on advertising in the information society. The President of the International Car Sports Federation Max Mosley supported a ban, but wanted the transition period to be extended to July 2006 (rather than July 2005) to bring it into line with the Federation's decision to ban tobacco brandname sponsoring. Expressing the views of the advertising industry, Rolf Wickmann (Grunes + Jahr AG & Co) felt that the very survival of the press was at stake. Various MEPs like the Germany Social Democrat Willi Rothley, or the British Conservative Lord Inglewood, expressed doubts about the EU's ability to legislation in this connection and also about the legal basis that had been selected. The rapporteur Manuel Medina Ortega (Spanish Socialist) said that it would be more of a political than a legal decision.