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Seven has been cleared of breaching tobacco advertising laws by broadcasting a news segment about cheap cigarettes, after the Federal Court today allowed its appeal, saying it “confirms the
freedom of the media”. The broadcaster had appealed the court decision in August last year which found Channel Seven Adelaide had broken broadcast laws by reporting Coles supermarkets were
selling cheap imported cigarettes. An earlier ruling by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) determined the segment shown in July 2010 had constituted a “tobacco
advertisement” and contravened the Tobacco Advertising Prohibition Act and the terms of Seven’s licence. Seven appealed the decision on the grounds it was not providing positive publicity of
the products and the images of tobacco were only broadcast as an “incidental accompaniment”. ADVERTISEMENT Welcoming the ruling, Seven said the decision saying in a statement: “The decision
of the full court confirms the freedom of the media to broadcast news stories of public importance such as tobacco related health issues where there is no intention to promote smoking or
tobacco products in the broadcast.” The ACMA has not yet commented on the ruling.