The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned ads from two electronic cigarette companies.
The rulings are part of a wider investigation into the promotion of nicotine e-cigarettes and their components in online ads.
The first ruling was for a paid-for Google ad for e-cigarette firm Golden Vape provided by Shoparade.uk.
Seen in November 2024, the campaign featured an image of a vape product with the text “POD X2 … LEMON LIME” written on the box.
Additional text in the ad read: “4 in 1 Pods, Replaceable … £4.50 … Free delivery, eBay … Pods, Prefilled … By Shoparad … Shop now”.
The advert was challenged by the regulator as it could have breached the CAP code by promoting unlicensed, nicotine-containing e-cigarettes.
Golden Vape UK responded to the ASA’s concerns, stating that they had “never approved or been in involved” in any advertising through Google or any other site.
It added that “they [golden vape] had no relationship with Shoparade.uk”.
The firm approached Shoparade to request the removal of any unauthorised ads associated with its brand.
According to the ASA, it approached Native Shopping Media UG t/a Shoparade.uk, but the firm did not respond to its enquiries.
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The watchdog said: “We understood that the ad had been created solely by Shoparage.uk, the third-party partner, without any input from Golden Vape and that Golden Vape had been unaware of the ad. However, as the marketer, they were responsible under the CAP Code for ensuring that their ads complied.”
It ruled that the ads must not appear again and referred the matter to CAP’s Compliance team.
The regulator made a second ruling against electronic cigarette company UK Electronic Cigarette Ltd t/a UKVapingStore.
The ad, provided by Falcongalaxy.com, was seen in November 2024 and contained a picture of several vape products.
Text on the ad read: “UK VAPING STORE … Buy 3 Get 1 FREE … Buy 7 get 3 FREE … Buy 10 Get 4 FREE”. The caption below stated, “Pre Filled Replacement … £6.99 … eBay.co.uk … By Falcon G … Shop now”
It was challenged on the basis that it could be breaching code by promoting unlicensed nicotine e-cigarettes.
UKVapingStore did not respond to the ASA’s enquiries when approached.
Falcongalaxy.com stated that they “took the matter seriously” and removed the ad from their site and any future advertising campaigns.
The watchdog said: “While we understood that UKVapingStore might not have set out to promote e-cigarettes that were not licensed as medicines in non-permitted media, they as the marketer were nevertheless responsible under the CAP Code for ensuring that their ads complied, notwithstanding the fact that the ad may have been created solely by the third-party partner without any input from UKVAPINGSTORE themselves.
The ASA added: “We welcomed Falcon Galaxy’s assurance that the ad had been removed from current and future advertising campaigns. However, since the ad had the direct or indirect effect of promoting e-cigarettes in non-permitted media, we concluded that it breached the Code.”
The ASA ruled the ads must not appear again in their current form and referred the ads to CAP’s Compliance team.
