South Africa: Tobacco industry's use of social media exposed.

On August 13, 2020, the National Council Against Tobacco, the African Center for Monitoring and Analysis of Tobacco Industry Policies and the Analysis Unit on the Economics of Excise Products published the 2020 Tobacco Interference Index ReportThe tobacco industry is accused of using social media to promote its products and circumvent South Africa's advertising ban laws.

The Tobacco Industry Interference Index is a global survey of how well public health policies are protected from subversive industry efforts and how governments have pushed back against this influence. South Africa was part of the study panel last year and for the second year, the country’s tobacco industry interference rating was measured. With 58 points in 2020, the country saw its score improve by 14 points compared to last year. This indicates a decrease in tobacco industry interference in South Africa and a simultaneous strengthening of efforts to prevent tobacco industry interference in the country.

Among the features highlighted in the latest report are the tobacco industry's continued efforts to market its products using social media.

The industry is thus using social media platforms to recruit other young influencers. Advertisements are published such as: “Looking for Nelson Mandela University (NMU) students who want to become tobacco brand ambassadors. You must be a student at NMU, aged 22-24, have a [minimum] of 1,500 followers and be a smoker.” According to the report, more than 150 young people responded to the ad, some of whom posted photos of themselves smoking.

The report also discusses the use of a famous South African radio talk show host in Italy for the opening of Milan Design Week to market the new IQOS device.[1]. Pearl Modiadie, one of South Africa's most renowned influencers, had published about twenty articles on the IQOS exhibition which were sent to more than 2 million subscribers, including short videos of the exhibition and an interview with the marketing director of the Philip Morris company.

Finally, the study more specifically illustrates the strategy of the cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris: To promote its new heated tobacco product and launch its new campaign, Philip Morris South Africa (PMSA) has partnered with dating app Tinder to target singles looking to quit smoking and encourage them to use the new product. The two-week campaign, titled “Unsmoke the planet, one match at a time,” reached over a million users on the dating site. The app is ranked number one in South Africa for downloads. PMSA said the Tinder campaign was launched to coincide with International Singles Day. Banners linked to a Philip Morris front site for more information on the manufacturer’s “Unsmoke the World” campaign.

Keywords: South Africa, marketing, tobacco, heated tobacco

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