INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image copyrightInstagramImage caption
One of the posts featured singer Lily Allen
Four vaping companies,
including British American Tobacco (BAT), have had Instagram posts promoting e-cigarettes banned by the Advertising Standards Authority
(ASA).The posts showed models and celebrities such as Lily Allen holding electronic cigarettes.The advertising of these products is banned
on social media.One of the groups that had complained said the ruling was "a huge step forward"."While the ASA ruling is great news, urgent
policy change is needed from Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to prevent BAT and other tobacco companies from using social media to advertise
their harmful products to young people around the world," the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids said in a statement.Image copyrightMylo
VapeImage caption
The company behind this post - Global Vaping Group - said it could not verify the model's age
The four vaping companies under scrutiny were:British American Tobacco (BAT)Ama VapeAttitude Vapes Global Vaping GroupThe complaint
was backed by UK anti-smoking groups Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) and Stopping Tobacco Organisations and Products (Stop).The companies
were accused of promoting nicotine-containing e-cigarettes and featuring models who appeared to be under 25, which is banned under the
In its response, British American Tobacco said its online communications "aimed to impart factual information regarding products but stopped
short of direct or indirect promotion".The Vype Instagram account in question did not allow under-18s and clearly stated its Vype
e-cigarettes contained nicotine, it said.And it "used these platforms to interact with users when they ask questions or request information
and to communicate factual information about Vype that adults vapers and smokers" wanted.Image copyrightAma Vape/InstagramImage caption
The company behind this post - Ama Vape - said it had removed it following the complaint
But Ash chief
executive Deborah Arnott said: "The law has always been clear that any advertising of e-cigarettes online is not permitted
"BAT's defence that all they were doing was providing 'information' on social media not promoting their products has been blown out of the
"The ASA ruling leaves no doubt that BAT's social media tactics for Vype were both irresponsible and unlawful and must never be
repeated."The ASA ruled the posts must not appear again in their current form
It told all four companies posts promoting nicotine-containing e-cigarettes "should not be made from Instagram in future" unless steps were
taken to make sure they could not be viewed by under-18s and the people featured must be 25 or older.Global Vaping Group accepted its post
had been "beyond purely being factual" and admitted it was unable to verify the age of a woman shown vaping
Attitude Vapes did not respond to the ASA's inquiries and was told it must do so "in future".Ama Vape said it had removed its post and
reviewed its other social-media content.
