BENGALURU, India – Companies including British American Tobacco (BAT) will be barred from promoting e-cigarettes on Instagram and other social media sites as a result of a ruling by the United Kingdom’s (UK’s) advertising watchdog on Wednesday.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) investigated Instagram posts from BAT e-cigarette brand Vype, as well as rivals Ama Vape, Attitude Vapes, and Global Vaping Group.
Complaints from health groups had argued the posts were likely to appeal to people below 18 years of age.
The ASA ruled that BAT’s posts breached online advertising rules including the use of celebrities such as British singer Lily Allen.
Its ruling means BAT and the three other firms must immediately stop using Instagram to promote e-cigarettes in the UK, stop using influencers and remove any posts that breach UK advertising rules.
Tobacco companies have been investing millions of dollars in their e-cigarette businesses as sales of traditional cigarettes decline in developed economies.
But a spate of vaping-related deaths and illnesses and high teen addiction to e-cigarettes have raised concerns over the safety of these devices.
In the United States, 52 deaths and nearly 2,500 lung illnesses have been associated with vaping. (Reuters)
