Sainsburys and Morrisons informed to forestall promoting heated tobacco

The govt has written to Sainsbury’s and Morrisons asking them to forestall “advertising and promoting” heated tobacco merchandise, which it says is unlawful.

The BBC reported in February the supermarkets had been showing posters and video monitors appearing units which create a nicotine-containing vapour via heating tobacco with an electrical present.

At the time, each supermarkets stated they believed the advertisements had been felony.

In reaction to the letter, Sainsbury’s stated it used to be in “close contact with the government”, whilst Morrisons stated it will answer “in due course”.

In 2002, the Labour govt underneath Tony Blair handed a regulation banning tobacco promoting. It outlined a tobacco product as one thing designed to be “smoked, sniffed, sucked or chewed”.

Morrisons has argued that because of this it does not observe to heated tobacco merchandise, as they do not produce smoke.

Advertising for Philip Morris International’s (PMI) iQos heated tobacco instrument on posters and video monitors used to be nonetheless on show in Sainsbury’s and Morrisons shops visited via the BBC in June, the place they had been visual to kids.

PMI stated it believes the Department of Health’s interpretation of the regulation is incorrect, and stated it has “complied with all applicable laws and regulations” because it introduced iQos in 2016.

The govt has now written to the supermarkets clarifying that during its opinion, the regulation does observe to those merchandise.

A Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) spokesperson informed the BBC: “In May, we wrote to supermarkets reiterating that the Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002… applies to all tobacco products currently on the market, and formally requested they stop advertising and promoting heated tobacco products in stores.

“All tobacco merchandise are destructive to well being,” the spokesperson added.

Surveys by the charity Action on Smoking and Health suggest that awareness of heated tobacco products has risen sharply over the past year, and is even higher among young adults, compared with those over 40.

Among 11 to 17-year-olds, nearly a quarter had heard of heated tobacco, up from 7.1% in 2022, the last time they were surveyed.

Some 3.3% of respondents to their survey said they had tried heated tobacco, and for 11 to 17-year-olds, the figure was 2.7%. While low, the charity said this was still “worryingly very similar to the degrees of use amongst adults”.

Experts say that although research on the health effects of heated tobacco is limited, it is likely to be less harmful than cigarettes, but worse for you than vapes, and less effective at helping smokers quit.

A spokesperson for Morrisons said it was reviewing the letter and would respond “sooner or later”.

Sainsbury’s said it believed its ads were compliant with the law. A spokesperson said: “We stay in shut touch with the federal government and business companions and are making plans our transition to make sure we additionally conform to deliberate incoming law.”

It would be for a court to rule definitively whether the government is right that heated tobacco advertising is banned under current law – but so far no-one has brought a case.

The law will be clarified when the government passes the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which is expected to conclusively ban all tobacco and vape advertising and sponsorship.

The bill is making its way through parliament and is currently at the committee stage in the House of Lords.

Hazel Cheeseman, the chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health, urged the government to pass the law as quickly as possible.

“It is outrageous that positive supermarkets nonetheless don’t appear to be ready to conform to the regulation, even if informed they’re in breach.

“The longer this takes to resolve, the more children will be exposed to tobacco product marketing,” she added.

The Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act applies UK-wide, however well being is a devolved factor. The devolved administrations in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland all stated they agreed with the DHSC in England that promoting heated tobacco is banned.

Asda and Tesco each stated they don’t settle for tobacco promoting.