Tobacco advertising in the Netherlands: an investigation reveals the persistence of prohibited advertising practices

In the Netherlands, an investigation by journalists from the podcast Voorheen Schaamteloos Randstedelijk (VSR) reveals the extent of the covert practices by which the tobacco industry continues to promote its products, despite the existing advertising ban. Publishing houses, media agencies, influencer agencies, and individual content creators all reportedly agreed, in exchange for payment, to disseminate messages favorable to tobacco and nicotine. These revelations, gathered from anonymous testimonies of industry professionals, shed light on a structured system of circumvention and a code of silence maintained by confidentiality agreements. They echo a reality also found in France, where the strict regulatory framework pushes the industry to intensify its so-called "under-the-radar" initiatives to promote its addictive products through indirect channels.