E-cigarettes: UK Marketing Rules

In the UK, the advertising of tobacco products has been banned in most of its forms since 1965. Restrictions applying specifically to the marketing of e-cigarettes (also known as electronic nicotine delivery systems, or ENDS) did not exist until 2014, when the European Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) was introduced. (see below) ¹ This page details the background, in and around 2014, to the early development of UK regulation on the marketing of e-cigarettes.

• Up to date information can be found on the main e-cigarette page, including links to information on regulation around the world.
• It also links to pages for each of the transnational tobacco companies and their products. Their main brands are presented in a diagram on the newer nicotine and tobacco products page, and in an associated table.
• See also the timeline of tobacco companies’ early investments in e-cigarettes.

In February 2014, the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) announced a public consultation into the regulation of e-cigarettes and invited responses from stakeholders and from the general public.²At the time, the secretary of the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP), which writes and maintain the UK Advertising Codes, Shahriar Coupal said:

“The market for e-cigarettes is fast-growing and the existing rules haven’t been able to give advertisers the clarity they need. By proposing new specific rules, we’re providing a clear framework for responsible advertising.”²

• For some examples and analysis of UK advertising, see the pages on E-cigarettes: Marketing

Lack of Rules on the Marketing of E-cigarettes

At the time, the ASA had two sets of rules that potentially affected the marketing of e-cigarettes. Firstly, there was  a strict ban on promoting tobacco products.³ Secondly, misleading, harmful or offensive advertisements were prohibited.⁴.

Ban on Promoting Tobacco Products

Television advertising of tobacco products was banned in the UK on 1 August 1965 under the Television Act 1964, which was reinforced by an EU directive in the 1980s. Commercials for loose tobacco and cigars continued to be aired on television until 1990.¹ Other advertising, such as press and billboard, was governed by a self-regulatory agreement with the Government covering the manner of advertising and the positioning of promotional sites. Non-television advertising campaigns came under stricter guidelines in 1986, when adverts showing a person smoking were banned.

Under the Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002, tobacco advertising in the press and on billboards was outlawed starting February 2003, while direct marketing was banned from May of the same year.⁵

The ASA explained how these bans would impact the marketing of e-cigarettes:

“This means that companies wanting to advertise e-cigarettes are heavily restricted. On television and radio advertisers can not depict products that resemble cigarettes, including any design, colour, imagery or logo style that might be associated in the audience’s mind with a tobacco product. In addition, broadcast ads that might appeal to children must not refer to smoking, or products associated with smoking,  unless they obviously form part of an anti-smoking campaign.”⁴

The rules for non-broadcast ads, such as those appearing in print or on billboards, were slightly less limiting – there was no rule restricting cigarette-like products being shown. However, advertisers must still ensure their ads are socially responsible and not misleading, harmful or offensive.⁴

Awaiting the results of the consultation, the ASA developed a code for e-cigarette advertising based on the prohibition of misleading, harmful or offensive advertisements in the UK.

Marketers were prohibited from making health related claims about e-cigarettes (i.e. that they are ‘healthier than tobacco’ or that they are ‘risk-free’) without ‘robust clinical evidence to support their claims.’⁶

• For more information, see the December 2013 ASA web page on advertising of electronic cigarettes: No smoke without fire?

Sky Cig Ad Banned

The advertisment for Sky Cig, described in more detail at the E-Cigarettes: Marketing page, showed young people performing youthful activities, partying, mountain biking, relaxing in bed, and travelling. The voice-over emphases that “Life is about now” ….”Life is only asking you one thing…” … “Who are you sharing it with?” showing a package of Sky Cigs.

Following a three-fold complaint against the Sky Cig advert, the ASA ruled that the advert was misleading because it did not say that the product was an e-cigarette or that it contained nicotine.⁷

Responding to the claim that the advert was irresponsible and harmful, because they believed it could encourage young adults and children to take up smoking, the ASA acknowledged “that inquisitive consumers (including young adults and older children) might be encouraged to visit Sky Cig’s website.” However, the Agency went on to rule that there was no breach under the current requirements of the code that bans the promotion of tobacco products (BCAP Code rule 10.4) “because the ad did not include any reference to tobacco products it did not encourage people of any age, including young adults and children, to start smoking tobacco cigarettes.”⁷⁸ The advert was not permitted to run again in its original form.

The ASA ruled that some marketing claims from other, independent e-cigarette companies have gone beyond the available evidence.⁸ Claims that e-cigarettes can be used anywhere including in places where smoking is not permitted are not allowed because:

“…regardless of the legal position on the use of e-cigarettes compared with smoking conventional cigarettes, policy on whether the use of e-cigarettes was actually allowed varied between organisations, employers, etc, meaning that, while it might not be illegal to use e-cigarettes, it was not always allowed in all situations.”⁹

BAT Vype Ad Through the Loophole

BAT’s return to television advertising after more than a 20 year absence, this time advertising e-cigarettes, made headlines in the UK and abroad.¹⁰ In Marketing Week, the company emphasized its focus on making a “responsible” campaign for its e-cigarette brand Vype. according to Nigel Hardy, head of UK and Ireland for BAT subsidiary Nicoventures  “significant” multi-million pound campaign supported by outdoor, press and digital ads should position Vype as a leading brand in the e-cigarette sector. He said:

“In Vype we are creating a modern brand that we need to communicate in a way that really appeals to smokers. We’re not focusing on the product, we’re building a brand which will be here for the long term.”¹¹

However, the company had to make one key change to get its campaign on TV. Instead of promising “pure satisfaction for smokers” as the online ads do, restrictions on cigarette advertising meant that BAT had to change the TV tagline to “pure satisfaction for vapers.”¹¹

Consultation on E-cigarette Marketing

On 27 February, the Committee of Advertising Practice, which writes the regulatory codes for the Advertising Standard Agency, announced a full public consultation and invited responses from a cross-section of interested parties including consumer bodies, regulators, government bodies, public health professionals and industry. The ASA have drawn up 14 proposed rules, including:

• Specific rules designed to offer particular protection to the young, the vulnerable and to non- and former-users of nicotine. This includes rules prohibiting e-cigarette ads from appealing to under 18s or showing anyone under 25 using an e-cigarette;
• Rules that specifically address concerns about the indirect promotion of tobacco products via advertising of e-cigarettes;
• Proposals to prohibit health or medicinal claims for e-cigarettes unless the product is licensed for those purposes;
• A requirement for advertisers to make clear that the product being advertised is an e-cigarette and whether or not it contains nicotine.

The discussion about marketing e-cigarettes is closely linked to the debate on regulation, as the ASA explains:

The proposals take into account the product’s potential for harm, addiction and association with tobacco, but they do not seek to answer the question of their proper use i.e. whether they should be used recreationally; as a smoking cessation device or at all. There have been high level discussions in the EU to address uncertainty about their proper use; the outcome of which will affect how these products are legally regulated and advertised in the future. It’s important, however, that advertisers and consumers are provided clarity and protection about the advertising of e-cigarettes in the interim period.²

E-cigarette Regulations from 2016

In 2016, after years of delay, the EU Tobacco Products Directive Revision came into force, restricting the marketing and promotion of e-cigarettes in the European Union (including the United Kingdom).

This Directive brought the bans on advertising e-cigarettes closer to those applying to tobacco products: television, radio, online or printed advertisements, direct or indirect, became illegal. Nonetheless, advertisements on outdoor posters and billboards are permitted. ¹

In 2018, the UK Science and Technology Committee proposed a review of such restrictions, recommending that manufacturers should be restricted from “making claims for the relative health benefits of stopping smoking and using e-cigarettes”¹.

For more information see our page on the TPD Tobacco Control Measures and Action on Smoking and Health’s briefing on UK Tobacco Advertising and Promotion.¹

For details of tobacco company interests and investments in e-cigarettes, see the main TobaccoTactics page on e-cigarettes, which links to further pages on individual tobacco companies.

Other TobaccoTactics Resources

• E-cigarettes
• E-cigarettes: Marketing
• E-cigarettes: At The Pharmacy
• Harm Reduction
• Product Innovation
• British American Tobacco owned CN Creative and Nicoventures