‘Ultimate hypocrisy’: Who is really behind the pro-vape ad campaign?

Freeman, who has done extensive research on vaping and how the tobacco industry has used social media to subvert tobacco advertising laws, said British American Tobacco was working around Facebook and Instagram rules against paid advertisements for vaping or tobacco products.

The rules do not extend to social or political advertising and do not prevent the tobacco and vaping industry from having Facebook and Instagram pages.

“Meta [which owns Facebook] makes no attempt to ban the tobacco industry from having Facebook pages,” she said. “BAT can have ads … getting people trying to push to overturn our vaping laws because it doesn’t fit in the definition of what a tobacco ad is.”

That the Responsible Vaping Australia Facebook site is run by “BAT Australia” and not an independent organisation was not obvious at first glance, Freeman said, unless people “go digging” on the site to discover it was created and run by British American Tobacco.

“It makes it seem like it is an independent organisation that’s representing the interests of small retailers when it is a transnational tobacco company,” she said.

A spokesman for Meta said it had removed several ads on the Responsible Vaping Australia Facebook site for breaching its social issues advertising policy because they ran without a disclaimer about who had paid for them. Similar content has since been published in “organic” posts, which are not paid ads.

“Several of these posts do not violate our policies, as we allow the discussion of vaping products on Facebook in line with our community standards. Social issues, electoral and political related ads are held to a higher standard and required to include a ‘Paid for by’ disclaimer,” the spokesman said.

Freeman said the post which says, “Help us keep vapes out of the hands of children and end the black market by joining our movement here”, was disingenuous because vape products were designed and marketed to attract young people with bright colours and flavours including passionfruit, blueberry and banana.

“It’s the ultimate hypocrisy that a company that has addicted children to cigarettes for decades … has the gall to say vapes don’t belong in school, let’s work together to get them out,” she said.

“It’s masking that this is a transnational tobacco company that has a history of selling products to young people around the world.

“This is an industry that has done everything it can to prevent public health from restricting how it sells in any way. They sued Australia when we adopted plain packaging 12 years ago, and now they are saying let’s work together.”

Internal British American Tobacco documents released during litigation against the company have previously revealed the company has marketed its products to children despite launching a public campaign to raise the legal age for smoking.

Internal memos and faxes written in the late 1990s revealed BAT’s head of global sponsorship discussing proposals for distributing model cars, promoting a formula 1 team and Tomb Raider style computer characters because the “cuddly/funny animal character has run its course and is probably more popular with very young children rather than kids”. Plans to promote Lucky Strike cigarettes at parties hosting cult bands including the Violent Femmes and popular DJs was also discussed while keeping BAT’s involvement hidden to avoid tobacco advertising bans.

NSW Health data published last year showed 11 per cent of people aged 16 to 24 years old reported being current vape users — double the number reported the year before.

Simon Chapman, a professor of public health at the University of Sydney, has written to the Australian Association of Convenience Stores raising concerns about children getting “highly addictive” vapes from convenience stores.

“Tobacconists have often sold tobacco products to children, and we are expected to believe that all of a sudden, they are going to put on their white hats and never do that again. I think we can take those suggestions with a big grain of salt,” he said.

“Responsible Vaping Australia is being bankrolled by British American Tobacco, a tobacco company which determines for its very future existence on uptake of nicotine products, whether they be cigarettes of vapes, by young people.

“Young people’s smoking rates are at the lowest levels ever recorded … which is why they are so keen to get vapes available through as many retailers as possible. Vapes are what they hope will be their salvation.

“This is why the government is not likely to go along with their proposals because they can see right through them.”

The Herald contacted the association for comment.

The Australian Retailers Association has stepped away from any association with vaping organisations in 2020 under the leadership of Paul Zahra. His spokeswoman said: “Any minor use or encouragement is a cause for concern.”

A spokesman for British American Tobacco said the vast majority of vaping products illegally sold in Australia were imported from China.

He said Responsible Vaping Australia was an initiative of British American Tobacco established to represent adult consumers, responsible retailers and industry associations who advocated for the responsible regulation of nicotine vaping products.

“Supporters of Responsible Vaping Australia are advocating to end the black market trade of nicotine vaping products by ensuring Australian adult consumers are able to purchase products in a responsible and regulated way,” he said.

”Despite Australia’s ban on the adult retail sale of nicotine vaping products, a rampant black market exists run by illegal operators who are selling unregulated products to anyone – including children.“