Vaping brands circumvent national regulations through their social networks

Youth vaping is a major public health issue worldwide. One of the main drivers of this trend is the promotion of vaping on social media. Some countries, such as New Zealand and the United Kingdom, have implemented advertising restrictions on vaping products, including on digital platforms. However, e-cigarette manufacturers continue to use strategies derived from traditional tobacco marketing, such as attractive design, flavors, partnerships, or sponsorships, and are taking advantage of international channels to circumvent national laws.[1].

Vuse's Instagram Marketing Strategies

A recent study examined content shared via the global Instagram account of British American Tobacco's Vuse brand, which holds over 25% of the global vaping market. The analysis covered all @Vuse.Worldwide posts between August 2023 and August 2024, examining collaborations, visual and textual content, and user engagement.

One particularly prominent partnership is the one with the McLaren Formula 1 team. The Vuse logo is omnipresent on the vehicles, and this partnership has allowed the brand to reach a much wider audience by relaying posts between the Instagram accounts of McLaren (nearly 14 million followers) and Vuse (around 17,000 followers originally). The most viewed videos are those related to this collaboration, with a peak of over 225,000 views.

Vuse also regularly uses influencers from the music and festival worlds. This content targets a young audience, with "Get Ready With Me" videos (preparing for a party) very popular with young women. E-cigarettes are often presented in a subtle way, integrated into a positive scene, associated with an attractive lifestyle. However, out of nearly 700 collaborations or mentions of brands and influencers, only 14 included a clear mention of a paid partnership (#ad or other), in contradiction with Instagram's transparency rules.

Insufficient digital regulations and circumventions

E-cigarette manufacturers are exploiting gray areas to circumvent advertising bans, particularly on social media. Although @Vuse.Worldwide is based in the UK, where regulations severely restrict promotional content from vaping brands, posts from this global account include images and partnerships that are prohibited in their home country. The official UK account, @Vuse.UK, appears to be more compliant with these rules.

Instagram's policies regarding vaping product advertising remain ambiguous. Direct advertising and paid partnerships are officially prohibited, but these rules don't clearly apply to content posted by brands on their own accounts. This allows companies like Vuse to maintain a strong visual presence and spread influential brand associations without resorting to paid ads.

Researchers believe this ambiguity is partly intentional, allowing platforms and brands to profit from the rapid, global, and unregulated distribution of digital content.

To be truly effective, regulatory measures must rely on international cooperation, combining an explicit ban on the marketing of vaping products on social media, active monitoring, and penalties for violations. National regulations must also extend to international content to limit the exposure of young audiences to this type of marketing.

A new digital playground for the tobacco and nicotine industry is also the world of NFTs and the metaverse : this allows tobacco companies to attract an increasingly younger audience through smoking avatars at virtual parties or to offer NFTs associated with industry-sponsored events that are very popular among young people, such as car races. In a context where legal boundaries are often difficult to apply to digital environments, strengthened cooperation between states, international institutions, and civil society actors is essential.

©Generation Without Tobacco

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[1]Hardie Lucy, Freeman Becky, Watts Christina, McCool Judith, Vape brands bypass regulations on marketing to young people by using global social media accounts, The Conversation, published August 13, 2025, accessed August 13, 2025

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