WARNING: This product contains nicotine, nicotine is an addictive chemical.
Only for audlts, anyone below the age of 21 is prohibited from buying e-cigarette.
The British Committee on Advertising Practice (CAP) recently issued an enforcement circular. It requires the e-cigarette companies to comply with advertising regulations and remove e-cigarette advertisements that appear on social media.
What’s more, some even offer incentives for third parties to post such content. Thus CAP has warned these vape brands to take targeted enforcement action if the problem persists.
There are significant restrictions on the advertising of e-cigarettes under laws and regulations.
These restrictions are reflected in the Advertising Code. Advertisements for nicotine-containing e-cigarettes without a pharmaceutical license are prohibited on television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and most online media, including social media. Moreover, advertisements must be responsible, which includes not targeting people who are particularly attractive to those under the age of 18.
Therefore, action is being taken to ban offending ads and ensure they are quickly removed. CAP is working with other regulators and law enforcement agencies to ensure young people are not exposed to unwanted vaping ads on TikTok and other social media.
The enforcement circular clearly informs advertisers/brands of the current regulations and requires them to stop immediately if they use the TikTok platform for e-cigarette advertising.
Finally, CAP reiterated that its responsibility is to ensure that e-cigarette advertisements only appear where they can be legally placed (for legal adult audiences), and they are responsible. Currently, the ads sometimes appear on social media and are targeted at young people.
“Our role is to ensure that vaping ads only appear where they can legally be advertised (to a legitimate adult audience) and are responsible. Currently, they are sometimes being placed in social media and targeted at young people. We’re determined to stamp this out. One vaping ad on these channels is one too many.”