Tobacco and vaping advertising in Europe: persistent exposure

A review of European literature published in the journal Tobacco Control[1] This highlights the differing regulations in Europe regarding the prohibition of tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship (TAPS), as well as the difficulty of enforcing these regulations for certain media. Therefore, despite the adoption of generally ambitious legal frameworks, particularly under the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and European law, the exposure of populations, especially young people, to the promotional strategies of the tobacco and nicotine industry remains high, notably through audiovisual media, points of sale, and digital platforms.

The study is based on an exploratory review conducted according to the PRISMA-ScR protocol[2]. The authors analyzed scientific publications and grey literature published between 2005 and 2023, drawn from seven international databases as well as institutional sources specializing in tobacco control. A total of 140 documents were included in the analysis, covering countries of the European Union, EFTA (Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, and Liechtenstein), and the United Kingdom. The analysis aimed to identify the main regulatory gaps in the area of tobacco control and support programs (TAPS).

The persistence of tobacco images in traditional audiovisual media

The presence of smoking scenes and tobacco products in traditional audiovisual media remains the primary source of advertising exposure analyzed. Of the 140 publications analyzed, 51 focus on representations of tobacco in mass media (television, film, streaming platforms, print media, and magazines), representing more than a third of the sources considered (36.4%). Nearly half of these studies (45.1%) were published between 2016 and 2023, indicating that this issue remains relevant despite bans on direct advertising.

The studies analyzed show that, while the number of scenes and the frequency of tobacco depictions have decreased over time in some media, exposure remains significant, particularly in content widely accessible to minors. In the United Kingdom, for example, tobacco imagery in popular films declined sharply between 1989 and 2017, without disappearing entirely, with a marked persistence in domestic productions and in films classified as suitable for children and teenagers. The persistence of this exposure, even overexposure, to smoking and the characteristics of this media representation are associated with an increase in susceptibility to smoking, experimentation, and initiation among young people—an effect also documented in several other European countries.

Beyond film, the journal highlights the continued presence of tobacco in television programs. While smoking scenes have become less frequent in some scripted content, they remain common in reality television, now identified as a significant source of exposure. The authors also emphasize the amplifying effect of video-on-demand services and streaming platforms, which redefine the issue by making this content widely accessible, including across national borders.

The central role of sponsorship and cross-border marketing

Sponsorship and cross-border marketing constitute the second most documented form of advertising exposure. Thirty-five publications, representing 25% of all sources analyzed, focus on these strategies, with more than half (51.4%) published between 2016 and 2023. The data show that these practices primarily concern high-visibility, international events, particularly in the field of sports, such as motorsports, cycling, and football.

Often indirect or based on "alibi marketing" tactics, these strategies maintain cross-border exposure to tobacco and nicotine product brands, including in countries where direct advertising is prohibited. The transnational nature of these practices leads to circumventing certain national regulatory frameworks and, above all, poses a challenge to enforcement, as EU countries are normally protected from this exposure by existing European directives. The institutional analysis included in the study indicates that, among the 26 European countries claiming to have comprehensive bans on TAPS (Tobacco, Promotion, and Sponsorship Activities), 13 acknowledge insufficient cooperation with other states to eliminate cross-border advertising, promotion, and sponsorship. Furthermore, 11 of these countries do not apply the same penalties to cross-border offenses as to national offenses, creating incentives to circumvent the rules.

The review also highlights the rise of indirect sponsorships for new tobacco and nicotine products, promoted as "smoke-free." Case studies describe promotional activities for heated tobacco devices organized at tourist events, cultural events, or leisure venues, contributing to the normalization of these products in attractive and international environments.

Points of sale as vectors of persistent promotional exposure

Point-of-sale marketing remains a major channel for promotional exposure. Thirty-two publications, representing 22.9% of the sources analyzed, specifically address this topic, which is well-documented in recent literature, with 68.8% of these studies published between 2016 and 2023. The data show that exposure to advertising and promotion of tobacco and vaping products at the point of sale remains high, even in countries with advanced regulatory frameworks.

Among British children and adolescents, the proportion reporting noticing e-cigarettes in supermarkets increased steadily between 2018 and 2022, reflecting the growing visibility of these products in everyday retail spaces. Several studies establish a direct link between this exposure and usage behaviors or intentions. Exposure to tobacco product displays and attractive visual presentations is associated with increased susceptibility to smoking among young people in Slovakia and Slovenia. In the UK, among adolescents aged 13 to 17 who regularly shop, exposure to images of e-cigarettes at the point of sale is associated with a greater susceptibility to smoking tobacco and a diminished perception of the risks associated with smoking.

In France, despite a complete ban on tobacco advertising, observations on the ground highlight persistent difficulties in achieving compliance at points of sale. The National Committee Against Smoking (CNCT)[3] observes the continued occurrence of violations related to the promotion of heated tobacco devices, particularly the IQOS product, based on manufacturers' strategies for circumventing regulations. These strategies take the form of visual displays of the device, promotional information materials, or practices akin to point-of-sale advertising, targeting the product as a technological object rather than the tobacco itself.

These practices operate within a fait accompli framework, with manufacturers exploiting the delays in legal proceedings designed to establish case law and reinforce the prohibition in order to continue their promotional activities. Their aim is to use this period to firmly establish the consumption of their products in the market. In doing so, consumers' exposure to promotional practices can be high. The French experience thus demonstrates that a lack of swift action in the face of violations makes their subsequent elimination more difficult. Conversely, early and systematic interventions appear crucial to preventing the entrenchment of these strategies. Compared to other European countries, where forms of advertising persist but are less contested, the French case shows that active enforcement of the law makes it possible, in the medium term, to significantly reduce the promotional visibility of these products.

The internet and social networks: renewed forms of advertising and promotion

Digital environments are now a central lever in the promotional strategies of the tobacco and nicotine industry, due to advertising formats that are harder to detect and a high capacity for audience targeting. Of the 140 publications included, 27 focus on online advertising and promotion (19.3% of the total) and 22 on social media (15.7% of the total), representing nearly a third of the sources analyzed. These practices are largely documented by recent research, with 70.3% of studies on the internet and 82% of studies on social media published between 2016 and 2023.

Online promotional content is characterized by a wide variety of formats and messages. On brand and retailer websites, advertisements emphasize the modernity, personalization, and performance of products, particularly e-cigarettes and heated tobacco devices, highlighting their technical features, the variety of flavors, or implicit promises of reduced harm. This ability to showcase products in a largely unconstrained digital environment contributes to their appeal and raises the question, from a public health perspective, of banning online retail sales, consistent with the elimination of product visibility in physical stores. On social media, promotion primarily takes indirect and hybrid forms, blurring the lines between commercial communication and everyday content. The review highlights the widespread use of influencer marketing and posts associating products with attractive lifestyles, positive experiences, or valued social identities, thereby increasing their appeal to teenagers and young adults. The difficulties in applying regulatory frameworks are accentuated by the rise of micro-influencers, whose publications, often perceived as spontaneous or authentic, do not systematically mention the existence of a commercial relationship, contributing to the trivialization and promotion of nicotine products in a diffuse manner.

Several European studies have established a statistically significant association between exposure to this digital promotional content and young people's susceptibility to use, experimentation, and actual use of e-cigarettes. The review also highlights a shift in the determinants of initiation toward digital platforms: exposure to nicotine products via social media is now described as a stronger predictor of subsequent use than exposure via films or television.

In France, the results Studies conducted by the CNCT also confirm these trends and highlight a particularly strong advertising presence on social media, characterized by the active promotion of vaping devices by numerous manufacturers. These strategies rely in particular on the use of influencers, the showcasing of products in content promoting attractive lifestyles, and the dissemination of promotional offers, in violation of applicable advertising and promotion regulations.

The authors of this European study emphasize that the varying degrees of clarity and generality of advertising bans in different countries lead to differing levels of protection. The data show that exposure to promotional strategies is higher in countries with incomplete or insufficiently enforced regulatory frameworks, but that it also persists, albeit to a lesser extent, in states with comprehensive bans, due to enforcement difficulties, particularly stemming from the transnational nature of media and digital platforms. These findings underscore the need to strengthen and update certain existing legal instruments, especially the European Tobacco Advertising Directive and the Tobacco Products Directive, in order to broaden their scope to include all new products. The authors thus stress the importance of full and consistent application of Article 13 of the FCTC, particularly in digital environments, cross-border communications and indirect forms of promotion, as well as strengthening cooperation between States and monitoring and enforcement mechanisms, in order to sustainably reduce the exposure of populations, especially young people, to the promotional strategies of the tobacco and nicotine industry.

©Generation Without Tobacco

AE

[1] Sabo G, Carnicer-Pont D, Lopez AM, et al. Tob Control Epub ahead of print: [01/14/2026]. doi:10.1136/tc-2025-059329

[2] The PRISMA-ScR protocol is an international methodological framework for exploratory reviews, designed to ensure transparency and rigor in the identification, selection, and synthesis of literature. It allows for mapping the state of knowledge on a given topic without systematically evaluating the quality of the included studies.

[3] Point-of-sale advertising barometers, CNCT