How tobacco firms are exploiting online loopholes to market products – report

The tobacco industry has successfully migrated its marketing tactics to digital space, a new report by the Tobacco Industry Monitoring and Response – Kenya has shown.

The report says X is the most used platform at 50 per cent followed by Youtube at 42 per cent.

Facebook and Instagram also attract a significant activity of 35.7 per cent and 28.6 per cent.

According to the report, the tobacco industry has circumvented regulations and firms are marketing their products online since traditional advertising avenues are highly monitored.

“Enforcement on digital platforms is weak but existing tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship regulations restrict advertising and sponsorship. The law does not adequately cover online marketing, which is a regulatory gap the tobacco industry exploits,” the report says.

According to the report, the industry has also steered clear of obvious promotional hashtags to avoid compromising the posts’ credibility and persuasive power among the youth.

The industry is also using “scandal proof personalities to reduce the risk of public backlash, it says.

“Influencers often frame their posts as personal choices in order to avoid being labelled as tobacco industry marketers. This makes it difficult for enforcers to call them out as well as the industry since it doesn’t appear as a traditional regulated advertisement.”

The content types used by the influencers include short-form videos and reels, images, photos, graphics and live sessions.

“Interactive formats are used to generate engagement and provide direct sales channels. Influencers and organisers use live videos to showcase tobacco imagery during live events and in digital flyers,” the report says.

The Tobacco Control Act of 2007 and the Tobacco Control Regulations of 2014 enforce a nearly total ban on all forms of tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship.

The law prohibits all direct and indirect advertising of tobacco products, including on social media, internet platforms and electronic media.

It also prohibits all forms of promotion and sponsorship, including, but not limited to, sports and cultural events, are forbidden.

Speaking during the launch of the report, International Institute of Legislative Affairs (IILA) executive director Celine Awuor said it is high time regulators changed strategy and started regulating the online space.

IILA coordinates the Tobacco Industry Monitoring and Response – Kenya.

“When these products are sold online, the industry also flaunts other tobacco control measure such as taxation and health warnings required for tobacco products,” she said.

Celine has also called for increased awareness and sensitisation of the law to border officials where some of these products are smuggled.

“It is important to note that some of these products also pass through customs without their knowledge just because the officers do not know how they look like,” she says.

“Some parents and even teachers have had these products under their noses just because they do not know how they look like. With increased public awareness, we may be able to educate the public on the harms of these products,” she said.