The Code for Responsible Marketing contains 14 mandatory principles, including:
- “Warnings: E-cigarette advertisement must contain clear warnings and references that the ad is exclusively intended for adult smokers and vapers.
- Placement: E-cigarettes may not be advertised in establishments or at events which are mainly frequented by children and teenagers.
- A minimum distance of 100 meters must be maintained to the main entrance of schools.
- Appeal to minors: E-cigarette advertising abstains from using cartoon characters and other fictional characters that could trigger the interest of minors.
- Product design: The products must not be designed in any way to be particularly appealing to minors. Appealing in this context is the presentation using comic figures, the depiction of candies and generally any visual representation that can attract the attention of minors in a special way.
- Health Professions: Advertisement for e-cigarettes does not contain persons, who represent health occupations or create the impression that the products would have a medical effect.”
IEVA President Dustin Dahlmann, underlined that while the group recognizes the health benefits of vapes as smoking cessation tools, their potential harm to non-smoking teens must also be addressed. “As confident as we are that e-cigarettes have significant harm reduction potential, we also recognize that they must be marketed responsibly. The signatories therefore only address adult smokers and e-cigarette users with their advertising and marketing to inform them about the products. Youth protection is imperative for us. We are very glad that we agreed on this with our dear colleagues from China.”
IEVA campaigns
The IEVA has also recently launched a new campaign aimed at educating smokers about the benefits and potential of vaping products as harm reduction and smoking cessation tools. While last year, the association also released an informational website for adult smokers and policy makers who want to learn more about vaping. Called Vapingfacts.eu, the aim of the website is providing factual information about vaping products, how they work, and the health benefits smokers would gain by switching from using regular cigarettes to vapes.
“The more smokers understand about vaping, the more likely they are to switch to this less harmful alternative to cigarettes. That’s why we’re pleased to launch vapingfacts.eu, a resource designed for adult smokers and policy makers who want to understand the fundamentals of vaping,” said Dahlmann at the time. “With so much misinformation out there about vaping, and so many incorrectly believing it to be just as bad as smoking, we hope to clear the air by laying out basic facts in an accessible way.”
