“In light of
these sector-
wide changes,
CAP and BCAP
consider that
an absolute
prohibition on
health claims
in lawful ads
for e-cigarettes
can no longer
be justified.”
The Advertising Standards Agency has announced an immediate
end to the absolute prohibition of health claims made in UK
e-cigarette advertisements.
A recently published document from CAP and BCAP announced
this change in light of new evidence since the rules came into
place four years ago.
“Since this prohibition came into force in 2014, the evidence for the
relative safety of e-cigarettes has improved, alongside a regulatory
regime to set product standards. In light of these sector-wide
changes, CAP and BCAP consider that an absolute prohibition
on health claims in lawful ads for e-cigarettes can no longer be
justified.”
The now-rescinded rules prevented “any claim that a relationship
exists between an e-cigarettes or one of its constituents and health.”
This meant advertisers could not claim that e-cigarettes were
healthier than tobacco.
Officially, the ruling has amended the CAP Code and now, only
medicinal claims are prohibited without authorisation from the
Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. Medicinal
claims include claims about vaping as a method for harm reduction
and smoking cessation.
However, the changes are not absolute and vaping product
advertisements still hold clear conditions, such as marketers providing
convincing evidence for all health claims in their ads.
It is also not classed as an across-the-board pre-approval of any
particular health claim. Rigorous examination for non-compliance
will stay in place:
“CAP and BCAP are not pre-approving any particular claim or type
of claim…The ASA will examine any complaints about health claims
on a case-by-case basis.”
The ASA has maintained that this relaxation of the rules will only
go into effect on platforms where e-cigarette advertising is already
legal:
“Nicotine-containing e-cigarettes are legally banned from advertising
in a range of media, including magazines, TV, and radio. The
changes made to the codes do not undo or otherwise affect the
application of these media bans.”
The ruling will not open up or legalise any new advertising
opportunities either.
In addition to the publication of new studies, this change is
partially motivated by the increased level of support for vaping by
public health organisations, such as Public Health England, which
included e-cigarettes in their advertising for the first time during
the Stoptober initiative.
The consultation began on September 14 2017. The final expert
consensus informing the ASA’s decision held that e-cigarettes are
less harmful than smoked tobacco, but are not “absolutely safe,”
that there is no evidence of any health benefits derived from dual
use of both tobacco and vaping and that there are no positive health
benefits for vaping beyond smoking cessation.
Advertisers are strongly advised against making any claims repeating
or endorsing these points.
The document also revealed two new, minor changes to BCAP’s
Code: the first removes the requirement to state nicotine content
(in broadcast media) and the second makes the e-cigarettes section
of the code permanent.
The document containing the ruling and all additional details can
be read in full on the ASA’s website and this ruling will be subject
to review in 12 months.
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