UK: E-cigarette Advertising Restrictions Relaxed

Source from:  The Guardian  10/10/2014

E-cigarette advertisers will be allowed to show their products on television from next month, under codes announced on Thursday.

Companies promoting e-cigarettes have previously been banned from showing them on TV, a restriction that some believe might confuse viewers, and which has not applied to other media.

However, new ads must not employ under-25s or those who seem to be of that age using an e-cigarette or playing a significant role, nor can ads be associated with youth culture or be likely to appeal to under-18s, the Committees on Advertising Practice (CAP) said.

There will also be bans on encouraging non-smokers or non-nicotine users to use e-cigarettes. Only companies whose products are licensed as medicines offering nicotine replacement therapy will be able to say their products have health benefits or claim they are safer or healthier than smoking tobacco.

The changes mean that rules on e-cigarette advertising have been harmonised across non-broadcast and broadcast media. There will be no 9pm watershed, reflecting changes in broadcasting and watching habits, but broadcasters will be expected to show they have behaved responsibly.

EU legislation threatening cross-border curbs on promoting e-cigarettes are due in May 2016, a move already subject to a legal challenge by the British company Totally Wicked, but it is not yet clear how these might be implemented in Britain. The new CAP rules will be reviewed after a year.

Shahriar Coupal, director of CAP, said: "We've moved quickly to put in place appropriate and clear regulation around e-cigarette advertising. While the debate about e-cigarettes continues our commitment is to make sure they are advertised in a responsible way and that children are protected."

Tom Pruen, chief scientific officer for trade body Ecita, tweeted in a personal capacity: "ECITA is very pleased with @CAP_UK rules on ecig advertising. Allows sensible & factual advertising of these products, distinct from tobacco."

An estimated 2.1 million people use e-cigarettes in the UK. The health charity Ash welcomed the codes but said it was disappointed that celebrity endorsement and free samples had not been prohibited. Enditem