BAT Banned from Posting Vaping Ads on Instagram
The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority has ordered BAT to stop posting public Instagram ads for its vaping products, including Vype, and to remove related promotional content.
According to Vaping Post, the UK advertising regulator, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), has ordered British American Tobacco (BAT) to stop advertising its e-cigarettes from any public accounts on Instagram.
British American Tobacco has been banned from posting e-cigarette ads on Instagram
Last week, the ASA instructed BAT to remove all ads related to Vype e-cigarettes on Instagram, including some influential accounts. This decision came after the organization investigated seven Instagram posts following prompts from several health organizations, including Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), the Smokefree Children Campaign, and the Stop Tobacco Organizations and Products.
British American Tobacco has been banned from posting e-cigarette ads on Instagram
In the complaints, it was alleged that British American Tobacco used models under the age of 25 to promote its products, which is prohibited in the UK. “Preventing tobacco companies from using social media to advertise to young people in the UK and around the world is a significant step forward,” said Mark Hurley, International Communications Director of the Smokefree Children Campaign.
Ultimately, this operation means that ads cannot be displayed again in the form of complaints. However, the ASA rejected complaints regarding British American Tobacco intentionally targeting anyone other than adults through its Instagram posts.
E-cigarette manufacturers are not allowed to claim that e-cigarettes are safer
Meanwhile, the UK Advertising Practice Committee (CAP and BCAP) announced in 2018 that health claims in e-cigarette advertising would no longer be prohibited. Nevertheless, e-cigarette manufacturers still cannot claim that specific ranges of products are safer than smoking unless they can reference studies related to that specific range.
Additionally, the ASA noted that if advertisers make broad claims about vaping, it is “very likely” that these claims will be associated with specific products. This indicates that manufacturers need to conduct their own research before making any health claims about their products.
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