Artur Galimov, Liam Obaid, Jennifer B. Unger Despite ongoing regulatory efforts to curb the vaping epidemic, the tobacco industry continues to introduce new products with innovative features. The industry has been particularly creative in attracting younger audiences by marketing devices that resemble toys and vaping devices with built-in video games. Recently, e-cigarette manufacturers launched a […]
Category: Marketing/Advertising
The Ploom case: defying German law
Dr. Katrin Schaller In Germany, the heated tobacco product (HTP) ‘Iqos’ from Philip Morris has been available since 2017 and ‘Glo’ from British American Tobacco since 2020. In May 2024, Japan Tobacco International (JTI) became the third tobacco company to launch its HTP ‘Ploom’ in Germany. When it was launched, Ploom was available online throughout […]
Is tobacco promotion through music making a comeback?
Alexander Barker We know that there are tobacco references in music and in the image portrayed by musicians, often associated with themes of rebellion. Smoking content in the media is a causal factor in experimentation and uptake by young people, likely due to social learning. Furthermore, the tobacco industry has previously attempted to target ‘hip’ […]
China’s e-cigarette manufacturers facing uncertain future
Ross MacKenzie, Jennifer Fang and Julia Smith China’s electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) industry accounts for close to 90% of global production. Based in Shenzhen in Guangdong province, an estimated 3,900 manufacturers employed some 2 million people in 2018 and reported sales of 33.7bn yuan (US$ 4.8bn) and exports worth 28.7bn yuan (US$ 4bn). Figures for […]
Mexico: cultural icons and giveaways for vaping advertising on Instagram
Guadalupe Ponciano-Rodríguez and Carlos Alberto Chávez Castillo Although they are legally forbidden in Mexico, Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) have increased in popularity, despite the fact that evidence about their potential harms and benefits is still evolving and contested. Vaping-related advertising on social media is increasing, particularly on platforms popular with young people. We recently […]
World: PMI in global motorsport smoke-free PR spin
John Baker Mission Winnow (MW) is a PMI campaign claiming to focus on “…innovation and technology to expedite change” through sponsorship of the Ferrari Formula One (F1) team, the Pramac MotoE team and the Ducati MotoGP team. Ducati launched its 2019 bikes at PMI’s Cube building, with PMI’s Miroslaw Zielinski and the MW logo designer, […]
Tobacco is deadly. Calling it ‘popular’ may send the wrong message
Stephanie R. Land and Wen-Ying Sylvia Chou National Cancer Institute, USA Tobacco control efforts are regularly complicated by the entry of new tobacco products into the marketplace. New products are often not well understood by the public, including members of the target markets, healthcare professionals, and community leaders. For example, we may lack information […]
Indonesia: the continued expansion of JUUL from the USA
Elizabeth Orlan, Rachel Grana, and Mark Parascandola In early July, we authored an industry watch article JUUL from the USA to Indonesia, published in Tobacco Control. It outlined moves by JUUL to formally enter the Indonesian market, where the products were already being sold both online and in vape shops. JUUL has now officially launched […]
The “Messi” problem of bidi branding in India
Kevin Welding The Tobacco Pack Surveillance System (TPackSS) has been systematically collecting and digitally archiving tobacco packs in low and middle-income countries since 2013. In 2016, we added the “Share-a-Pack” feature to the website to allow the uploading of packaging images by anyone around the world. In July 2018, a bidi (or biri) pack with […]
Why Tobacco Control still won’t publish tobacco industry funded work, even if the funding is laundered through PMI’s new ‘independent’ foundation
Authors: The Tobacco Control Senior Editorial Team (listed in alphabetical order): Joaquin Barnoya, Joanna Cohen, Coral Gartner, Lisa Henriksen, Sarah Hill, Ruth E. Malone, Richard O’Connor Tobacco Control has a normative focus: we strive to publish the best research that informs and advances public health and policy. In this spirit – and because of a […]