Scotland to restrict e-cigarette advertising

The Scottish Government has released the key findings of its consultation[1] on vaping products and considers “strengthening the rules on advertising and promotion” of e-cigarettes. The consultation sought views on proposed regulations aimed at striking a balance between protecting young people and non-smokers and providing current smokers with information about these products in Scotland. Responses and analysis from the consultation will help the Government finalise these regulations.

A total of 757 validated responses were received as part of this consultation. The vast majority of these were from individuals (94.3%), with 43 coming from organisations including health, local authorities, the tobacco industry, the e-cigarette industry and organisations selling products related to the tobacco and e-cigarette trade.

E-cigarette advertising restricted to protect young people

The Scottish Government believes that restricting the advertising and promotion of e-cigarettes is a way to prevent young people and non-smoking adults from taking up these products. It therefore proposes to restrict:

- Advertising of these products on billboards, billboards, buses and other vehicles, through the distribution of brochures and leaflets, and their placement on mobile video devices;

- The distribution of free or discounted samples;

- Sponsorship of an activity, event or person;

These proposals also apply to liquids that do not contain nicotine, due to the presence of potentially dangerous chemicals in all such liquids.

Individual responses to the consultation questions were broadly split evenly between support and opposition to the Scottish Government's proposals. In terms of organisations, local and health authorities were broadly supportive of the proposals, while the tobacco industry, vaping industry and organisations selling tobacco and e-cigarette related products were not.

Electronic cigarettes deemed too attractive

Many people (individuals, health organisations and local authorities) believe that current advertising and packaging of vaping products may encourage young people and non-smokers to try them, including the use of “bright colours”, a range of “fruity flavours”, and “slick, colourful and eye-catching” displays. They also believe that some e-cigarettes resemble highlighter pens and can be easily hidden by schoolchildren.

These same people suggest that access to these products should be carefully controlled, and that they should not be presented as "fashionable", "more socially acceptable" or a "lifestyle choice" for children and young people.

The 2018 Scottish Adolescent Lifestyle and Substance Use Survey (SALSUS) showed that the use of e-cigarettes by young people has increased in the three years since 2015, with the percentage of 13-year-old non-smokers having tried them rising from 13% to 15% and for 15-year-olds from 24% to 28%.

Facilitate the provision of information on e-cigarettes to adult smokers

At the same time, the Scottish Government wants adults who are considering using e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation aid to have the necessary information available to them. One in two submissions want the Scottish Government to seek to limit the use of e-cigarettes to smoking cessation only and to protect non-smokers from them.

For the tobacco industry, e-cigarettes are not just a "cessation tool"

The industry fears that these proposals could "disproportionately limit the opportunities for adult smokers to understand the differentiation in relative risks between combustible tobacco products and e-cigarettes ", and considers that "E-cigarettes are not just a tool for quitting smoking ". She suggests that some smokers might choose to use e-cigarettes alongside conventional tobacco, and that this combination would reduce their overall risk level. However, this is incorrect, as it has been scientifically proven that reducing your consumption of smoked tobacco by vaping (these are vape-smokers) does not reduce health risks in any way, and may even increase them. Only completely stopping smoking tobacco is beneficial for health.

A cautious approach to the use of e-cigarettes

Health organisations support the Scottish Government's proposals, particularly as the long-term health risks of e-cigarettes are still poorly understood; they want research to be conducted into their use and potential effectiveness in quitting smoking, particularly in comparison with medical treatments for tobacco addiction. They consider continued education, communication and awareness-raising on the potential dangers of long-term use of e-cigarettes to be essential.

ASH Scotland welcomes the publication of this Scottish Government consultation as an important step forward in protecting the health of non-smoking children, young people and adults in Scotland.

Keywords: Scotland, electronic cigarette, vaping, withdrawal, smoking cessation, advertising, marketing

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[1] Publication - Consultation analysis - Vaping products - tightening rules on advertising and promoting: consultation analysis, Scottish Government website, published 27 September 2022, accessed 29 September 2022