Three television ads for e-cigarettes have been banned just weeks after new rules came into effect allowing people to be shown using the devices.
Two ads for Must Have, which trades as VIP Electronic Cigarettes, showed a woman exhaling vapour - or 'vaping' - while a voiceover stated: "Find out why 89% of our consumers said they preferred VIP over other brands," and "The great taste of VIP".
The Adverting Standards Authority (ASA) received 199 complaints, including concerns from 187 viewers and organisations such as Ash (Action on Smoking and Health), the Association of Directors of Public Health UK (ADPH) and the British Medical Association (BMA), that the ads glamorised the smoking of tobacco products through its depiction of the woman and were irresponsible because they were likely to have particular appeal to people aged under 18 and encouraged non-smokers to use e-cigarettes.
Must Have said the ads stated that the product was an e-cigarette, which they believed was sufficient to make clear that it was not a tobacco product that was being promoted.
It said the woman in the ads clearly appeared to be over 25 years of age and was not behaving in an adolescent or juvenile way, and it had advertised around programmes that appealed to an "all adults" audience to reach its target of tobacco smokers and e-cigarette users.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) noted that the product did not resemble a traditional tobacco cigarette and the ads did not use terminology associated with tobacco products, instead referring to 'e-cigarettes' and 'e-liquids'.
But it said the ads consisted primarily of a close up of a woman's face as she used the product, while her long dark hair and dark eye make-up gave her a glamorous look and the intimacy of the shot drew particular attention to her mouth and the vapour.
In a separate ruling, the ASA banned a Vape Nation ad for encouraging ex-smokers to use e-cigarettes.
The television ad for KiK e-cigarettes showed a group of adults using and discussing the devices in an outdoor restaurant, with one man saying: "I used to smoke normal cigarettes, but after I quit, I tried these. I actually prefer them."
Seven viewers complained that the ad was likely to encourage non-smokers, and particularly former smokers, to use the product.
Vape Nation said the ad was aimed at current smokers and did not sell directly to viewers or encourage non-smokers to take up e-cigarettes.
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