UK: Evaluation of vaping advertising regulations

A report from the organization Cancer Research in the UK assessed the compliance and impact of current UK regulations on advertising of e-cigarettes. These regulations allow for many exceptions to the advertising of vaping products and adolescents and young people are found to be very receptive to these advertisements.

This report[1] covers two studies that explored compliance and the impact of current regulations. The first study analysed advertising spend on e-cigarettes in the UK in 2019 and conducted a detailed content analysis of a corpus of selected advertisements from that year of research. The second study analysed the perception of these advertisements by young people (aged 16-19) and adults (aged 18 and over) exposed to them through a wide range of marketing channels. The analysis reveals that of the 12 vaping brands studied, 6 are owned by the tobacco industry but accounted for 90% of all vaping advertising spend in 2019. The tobacco industry spent almost £30 million on marketing vaping products compared to just over £3 million for non-tobacco brands.

UK vaping advertising regulations incomplete

While most forms of tobacco advertising and promotion have been banned in the UK since 2002, there are still many exceptions for the marketing of vaping products. According to Regulation 22.12 of the CAP code[2], relying on the legislative prohibition contained in the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 (TRPR), nicotine-containing products and their components are prohibited from advertising in certain media, unless they are authorised as medicines (radio, print and online media). Exceptions allow for the promotion of these products in cinemas, on outdoor billboards, by post or on manufacturers’ websites, and in principle this exception can be extended to activity on their social media accounts. In authorised channels, e-cigarettes cannot be presented as a ‘healthier’ or ‘safer’ alternative to smoking. Any health information about these products must be subject to approval by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Advertisers are not allowed to feature people under 25 years of age, or appearing to be under 25 years of age, using vaping products in their advertisements.

The ineffectiveness of a partial ban on advertising of nicotine products

The analysis of advertising expenditure on e-cigarettes in 2019 showed that 99.9% of the reported expenditure took place in media channels where advertising for e-cigarettes was permitted under the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations (Cinema, Outdoor Displays, Flyers), with the remaining expenditure (0.1%) occurring in print and online media. All Instagram ads in the sample were found to be in breach of CAP Code Rule 22.12[3] and the 2016 regulation because all of the mentions went beyond the strictly descriptive nature of the product and were indeed of an advertising nature.

Instagram is the tobacco industry’s primary channel for promoting its vaping products. In December 2019, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ordered British American Tobacco to remove all Vype-related ads[4] on Instagram claiming that BAT's ads clearly went beyond factual information and were promotional in nature.

However, regulatory exceptions mean that the tobacco industry has legally spent over £30 million directly promoting its new products to the general population in just one year in the UK. Numerous studies show that partial bans have little or no effect because the industry simply diverts resources to other types of advertising or promotion as this study highlights. When it comes to tobacco advertising bans, only a complete ban is effective in reducing the rate of consumption among young people and not encouraging them to start. For example, comprehensive advertising bans reduce smoking initiation by an average of 6%. A partial ban reduces it by at best only 2%.[5]

Young people much more receptive to vaping advertisements

Adolescents and young adults are more receptive to vaping advertisements than adults. They are more likely to notice them than adults on almost all distribution channels. The contrast is particularly clear with regard to display advertisements (31.4% of young people compared to 5.9% of adults reported having seen them). Similarly, young people who had never smoked or vaped reported having noticed vaping advertisements than adult smokers, regardless of the advertising medium chosen. More than a third of 16 to 19 year-olds also believe that vaping advertisements make vaping attractive or very attractive. They are also a third to think that these advertisements target people who do not smoke. In fact, approximately 90% of advertisements do not broadcast any message relating to smoking cessation.

Young people are also more likely to notice vaping advertisements on websites and social media than adults, 41.1% v/ 14.0% respectively. The authors of the report highlight that current regulations are not effective in protecting young people from exposure to advertising content for vaping products, particularly on social media.

Tags: Marketing, Vaping, E-cigarettes, UK, Advertisements Photo credit: TalkingRetail ©Generation Without Tobacco

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[1] Stead, M., Hitchman, SC, Angus, K., Aleyan, S., Ford, A., MacKintosh, AM, Purves, R., Mitchell, D., Hammond, D., Fong, GT, Driezen, P., Reid, J., Craig, L., Chung-Hall J., Cummings, KM, Thrasher, JF, Cho YJ, Cowell, C., Coker, T., Bullock, S., Froguel, A., Vohra, J., “Ecigarette marketing in the UK: evidence from adult and youth surveys and policy compliance studies.” Cancer Research UK. 2021 [2] UK Code of Non-Broadcast Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing [3] Under Rule 22.12, nicotine-containing products and their components are prohibited from advertising in certain media, including online media, unless they are authorized as medicinal products. [4] Siddharth Cavale, UK ad watchdog bans BAT from Instagram e-cigarette promotion, Reuters, December 18, 2019, accessed March 19, 2021 [5] Levy DT, Chaloupka F and Gitchell J. The effects of tobacco control policies on smoking rates: a tobacco control scorecard. Journal of Public Health Management & Practice 2004;10(4):338–53 National Committee Against Smoking |