A pro-vaping lobby group has run a series of advertisements targeting those over 18 without disclosing the ads were sponsored by big tobacco, despite Facebook requiring groups advertising political or social issues to disclose who paid for the ad.
An initiative of British American Tobacco Australia, “Responsible Vaping Australia” emerged in November, and on Facebook describes itself as an “education research centre”. It claims to represent retailers who want to sell vapes responsibly.
In late December, just after the federal health minister, Mark Butler, announced the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) had opened sweeping vaping reforms to consultation, Responsible Vaping Australia launched its advertisements.
But the ad campaigns, including the latest which ran from 13-19 February, do not target retailers. Facebook data from the February campaign shows users aged 18 and above with an interest in nightclubs, pubs, bars and clubbing subculture were the target audience, and were where the bulk of the advertising spending was directed. Advertisers can select the demographics, interests and behaviours of people they want to see their ads.
The ads state that “Australia needs practical, common sense solutions on vaping policy. The government wants to hear from you” and link to a petition calling on the government to exempt nicotine vaping products from the Poisons Standard and to allow retailers to sell nicotine vaping products.
The latest ad states “Australia’s current laws have created an enormous demand for black market vaping products”. The ad carried no required disclaimers about who funded it.
According to Meta, which owns Facebook, “Advertisers can’t run ads that promote the sale or use of tobacco or nicotine products or related paraphernalia, including, but not limited to: electronic cigarettes, vaporisers or other products that simulate smoking”. However, the ads were allowed because they promoted “social issues” tied to vaping.
It is unclear how long the ads were allowed to remain public. Only 16 of 31 ads appear to have run with disclaimers. Many of the disclaimers simply say “sponsored” without saying by whom.
A Meta spokesperson told Guardian Australia: “These ads were not selling vaping products but promoting social issues tied to vaping to Australians aged 18 and over. Social issues, electoral and political related ads are held to a higher standard and required to include a ‘Paid for by’ disclaimer. We removed these ads for breaching social issues advertising policy because they did not include this disclaimer.”
Public health experts say a blanket ban on the import and sale of vaping products without a prescription – whether those products contain nicotine or not – needs to be implemented to prevent importers from dodging import laws and to protect children, who are buying the products from convenience stores where they are not asked for ID.
While pro-vaping groups label such a move as “prohibition,” public health groups argue there is nothing prohibitive about allowing adults who are trying to quit smoking access nicotine vaping products with a prescription, in the same way many other medicines and treatments are managed.
A tobacco control expert and professor of public health with the University of Sydney, Becky Freeman, said it was misleading for Responsible Vaping Australia to label itself as an education and research group given its clear political agenda.
“I don’t see any evidence of any ‘education or research’ in the content of the Facebook page,” Freeman said. “This is a campaign with financial ties to BAT [British American Tobacco Australia] that is actively lobbying to overturn Australian vaping laws.
“Facebook claims to have policies that ban the advertising of tobacco and vaping products, but then openly allow this front group to target young Australians.”
Guardian Australia has contacted Responsible Vaping Australia for comment. Despite being an Australia-focused group, most of the administrators of the Responsible Vaping Australia page are in Hong Kong and Pakistan.
While public health experts have been complaining to Facebook about the page description since December, after receiving questions from Guardian Australia the Facebook page administrators changed the description from being a “research and education” group to a ‘health/medical/pharmacy’ group.
The “organisation managing this page” section was empty as of Friday.
Tobacco control expert Prof Simon Chapman said people should be wary of providing their details to the Responsible Vaping Australia website and petition.
“They don’t say how exactly they will use your information,” he said. “They will have a heap of potential data there for future lobbying, and maybe even for future marketing.”
Pro-vaping groups such as Responsible Vaping Australia argue that convenience stores and tobacconists are experienced sellers of nicotine vaping products and are best placed to sell the products to adults. In his submission to the TGA vaping reform consultation, Chapman questioned this, saying retailers already “totally ignore” a ban on selling the products to children.
“Significant proportions of children who vape report it easy to purchase Nicotine Vaping Products,” his submission says.
The TGA told Guardian Australia it had received close to 4,000 submissions to the consultation.
“This means that the work to progress the submissions to publication is taking some time, including because it is necessary to redact certain personal information and defamatory content prior to publication,” a TGA spokesperson said.
“Submissions will be published as soon as possible following this process.”
Overseas pro-vaping groups are among the submissions. This includes the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (Caphra), which is an affiliate of the Swiss-based International Network of Nicotine Consumer Organisations that has received grants from the Philip Morris-International (PMI)-funded Foundation for a Smoke Free World (FSFW).
Caphra’s members include the Hong Kong/Bangkok-based Factasia, which openly states it has received financial support from PMI for many years. It also receives funding from the Australian Taxpayers Alliance, which runs a Legalise Vaping Australia campaign. The World Vapers Alliance – exposed by media organisations Le Monde and the Daily Beast last year as being funded and directed by British American Tobacco – has also made a submission.
