Supermarkets Under Fire for Controversial Tobacco Advertisement Practices

Several major UK supermarkets, namely Sainsbury’s and Morrisons, have come under scrutiny for promoting heated tobacco devices, which some authorities believe violate a long-standing ban on tobacco advertising. Despite adverts for products like iQos and Ploom being prominently displayed in stores where children can easily see them, the supermarkets assert that these advertisements are legal. This dispute stems from a 2002 law that prohibits tobacco advertising, but companies argue that heated tobacco products, which emit no smoke, fall outside of this definition.

The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) has labeled these adverts as ‘prohibited,’ but acknowledges a lack of conclusive legal testing on the matter. Experts note that while heated tobacco is likely less harmful than traditional cigarettes, it may still pose greater health risks than vaping products and does not effectively support smoking cessation.

In response to previous concerns from health officials regarding iQos advertising, Philip Morris International, the maker of the device, claimed it only agreed to suspend its advertising, not to cease it entirely.

Critics, including public health advocates like Hazel Cheeseman from Action on Smoking and Health, argue that such advertising practices risk exposing children to new tobacco products and undermine existing anti-tobacco efforts. The UK government has not clarified its stance on the legality of such advertising, although upcoming legislation is expected to impose stricter controls on all nicotine and tobacco product adverts. Meanwhile, other major supermarkets like Tesco have decided against running any tobacco advertisements to stay compliant with what they interpret as current legislation.