UK ad watchdog asks British American Tobacco to remove some Instagram posts on e-cigarette

British American Tobacco (BAT) must stopadvertising its e-cigarettes from any public account onInstagram, including influencers' accounts, theUK'sadvertisingwatchdogruled on Wednesday.

The ASA decision stems from a probe into sevenInstagrampostsby Vype aftersomehealth groups raised complaints in March that they wereadvertisements likely to appeal to those below 18 years of age.

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The complaints from Action on Smoking and Health, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and Stopping Tobacco Organizations and Products also alleged the company hadused models who appeared to be under 25 which is prohibited in theUK.

Theads must not appear again in the form complained about, the ASA said in a statement, upholding complaints that the company hadbreached onlineadvertising laws and used under-25 models through thoseposts.

The agency, however, did not uphold the complaint thatBAThaddeliberately targeted anyone other thanadults through itsInstagramposts.

ThoughUKlaws ban onlineadvertising of e-cigarettes, manufacturers are allowed to provide factual product information such as the name, content and price of the product on their own websites, according to the EU's Tobacco Products Directive.

The ASA's ruling, however, said that social media accounts were not the same as a website, and thereforeBATcould not use the platforms for disseminating factual or promotional content on e-cigarettes.

"The ASA's ruling is a huge step forward in preventing tobacco companies from using social media toadvertise to young people in the UKand around the world," said Mark Hurley, director of international communications at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

Tobacco companies have been pouring millions of dollars into their e-cigarettebusinesses as sales of traditionalcigarettes decline. But a spate of vaping-related deaths and illnesses and high teenaddiction to the products have raised concerns over the safety of these devices.

BAT, the maker of Dunhillcigarettes, reported vaping products revenue of 189 million pounds for the first half of this year, up from 118 million pounds in the same period a year ago.

"We will abide by the ASA's decision and recommendation toremovethe relevantpostsand amend ourInstagramaccount setting," said Simon Cleverly,BAT's group headof corporate affairs.