Tobacco products once again topped the advertising blacklist in 2006 as a number of cigarette manufacturers tried to find ways to circumvent the existing ban.

China has banned tobacco advertising since 1992.

However, advertising goes on under various disguises, according to the latest annual survey of the advertising standards authority under Beijing Administration for Industry and Commerce.

The survey was based on the mass media, from printed publications, broadcasting networks, to the Internet. It examined about 3.8 million advertisements.

Nearly 0.3 percent of them came under suspicion of law breaking, down 0.5 percent from the previous year, the survey showed.

However, the tobacco industry remained the main transgressor for the second year in a row. It avoided the banned advertising outlets, and instead switched to sponsorships of sporting events, cultural events, and "brand stretching" the use of tobacco brands in conjunction with the other product brands.

"Brand stretching" is widely used in TV commercials.

"The mass media must exercise self-discipline when balancing profits against the social conscience," said Wang Weiming, assistant professor with the Beijing-based Communication University of China.

Also making the blacklist were textiles, medical services, footwear, and alcohol.

(China Daily February 3, 2007)