Printers could face prosecution, fines or even imprisonment if the Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Bill becomes law, the BPIF has warned.

The Bill states that any person who in the course of business prints, devises or distributes in the UK a tobacco advertisement will be guilty of an offence punishable by a fine or prison sentence of up to three months.

"This will mean printers will have to prove their innocence from the starting point of being guilty, in what is a reversal of the burden of proof," said BPIF legal department solicitor Anne Copley.

The bill is due to be debated in the House of Lords today (7 December).

Copley said the BPIF was working with members of the House of Lords to lobby for an amendment.