A review of European literature published in the journal Tobacco Control[1] highlights the differentiated regulations in Europe regarding the ban on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship (TAPS) as well as the difficulty of applying these regulations for certain media. Also despite the adoption of generally ambitious legal frameworks, notably under the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and European law, the exposure of populations, particularly young people, to the promotional strategies of the tobacco and nicotine industry remains high, particularly via audiovisual media, points of sale and digital platforms.
The study is based on an exploratory review carried out according to the PRISMA-ScR protocol[2]. The authors analyzed scientific publications and gray literature published between 2005 and 2023, from seven international databases as well as institutional sources specializing in tobacco control. A total of 140 documents were included in the analysis, covering the countries of the European Union, EFTA (Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein) and the United Kingdom. The analysis aimed to identify the main regulatory gaps in TAPS.
The persistence of tobacco images in traditional audiovisual media
Table of Contents
The presence of scenes of smoking and tobacco products in traditional audiovisual media remains the main source of advertising exposure analyzed. Among the 140 publications analyzed, 51 relate to representations of tobacco in mass media (television, cinema, streaming platforms, printed press and magazines), or more than a third of the sources selected (36.4%). Nearly half of these studies (45.1%) were published between 2016 and 2023, a sign that this issue remains relevant despite the bans on direct advertising.
The works analyzed show that, although the number of scenes and frequency of representations of tobacco have decreased over time in certain media, exposure remains significant, particularly in content widely accessible to minors. In the United Kingdom, for example, images of tobacco in popular films declined sharply between 1989 and 2017, without disappearing, with a marked persistence in national productions and in films classified as suitable for children and adolescents. The persistence of this exposure or even overexposure to smoking and the characteristics of this representation of tobacco in the media are associated with an increase in susceptibility to smoking, experimentation and initiation among young people, an effect also documented in several other European countries.
Beyond cinema, the review highlights the continued presence of tobacco in television programs. While smoking scenes have become rarer in certain scripted content, they remain frequent in reality TV, now identified as a notable source of exposure. The authors also highlight the amplifying effect of video-on-demand services and streaming platforms, which renew the problem by making this content massively accessible, including beyond national borders.
The central role of sponsorship and cross-border marketing
Sponsorship and cross-border marketing constitute the second most documented mode of advertising exposure. Thirty-five publications, or 25% of all sources analyzed, relate to these strategies, more than half of which (51.4%) were published between 2016 and 2023. The data shows that these practices primarily concern events with high visibility and an international dimension, particularly in the field of sport, such as motor sports, cycling or football.
Often indirect or based on “alibi marketing” devices, these strategies make it possible to maintain cross-border exposure to brands of tobacco and nicotine products, including in countries where direct advertising is prohibited. The transnational nature of these practices leads to the circumvention of certain national regulatory frameworks and above all poses the difficulty of applying the measures, the countries of the European Union being normally protected from this exposure by the European directives in force. The institutional analysis included in the study indicates that, among the 26 European countries declaring themselves to have generally complete bans on TAPS, 13 recognize insufficient cooperation with other States to eliminate cross-border advertising, promotion and sponsorship. Furthermore, 11 of these countries do not apply the same sanctions to cross-border offenses as to domestic offenses, creating incentives to circumvent the rules.
The review also highlights the rise of indirect sponsorships for new tobacco and nicotine products, promoted as being “smoke-free”. Case studies thus describe promotional actions for heated tobacco devices organized during tourist events or during cultural events, or in leisure places, contributing to the standardization of these products in attractive and international environments.
Points of sale as vectors of persistent promotional exposure
Point-of-sale marketing remains a major channel for promotional exposure. Thirty-two publications, or 22.9% of the sources analyzed, relate specifically to this theme, widely documented in recent literature since 68.8% of these studies were published between 2016 and 2023. The data shows that exposure to advertising and promotion of tobacco and vaping products at the point of sale remains high, including in countries with advanced regulatory frameworks.
Among British children and adolescents, the proportion reporting noticing electronic cigarettes in supermarkets increased continuously between 2018 and 2022, reflecting the increasing visibility of these products in everyday sales areas. Several studies establish a direct link between this exposure and behavior or intentions of use. Exposure to tobacco product displays and attractive visual displays is associated with an increase in susceptibility to smoking among young people in Slovakia and Slovenia. In the United Kingdom, among adolescents aged 13 to 17 years who regularly visit stores, exposure to images of electronic cigarettes at the point of sale is associated with a greater susceptibility to smoking tobacco and a reduced perception of the risks associated with smoking.
In France, despite a complete ban on advertising of tobacco products, field findings highlight persistent difficulties in ensuring compliance at points of sale. The National Committee Against Smoking (CNCT)[3] observes the permanence of infringements linked to the promotion of heated tobacco devices, in particular for the IQOS product, based on strategies of circumvention of regulations by manufacturers. These take the form of visual highlighting of the device, information supports for promotional purposes or practices comparable to advertising at the point of sale, targeting the product as a technological object rather than the tobacco itself.
These practices are part of a logic of fait accompli, with manufacturers exploiting procedural delays intended to establish case law and recall the ban to continue their promotional actions. Their aim is to use this period to establish lasting consumption of their products on the market. In doing so, consumer exposure to promotional practices may be high. The French experience thus shows that the absence of rapid reaction to infringements makes their suppression more difficult subsequently. Conversely, early and systematic interventions appear decisive in preventing the lasting installation of these strategies. Compared to other European countries, where forms of advertising persist but are less contested, the French case shows that active application of the law makes it possible, in the medium term, to significantly reduce the promotional visibility of these products.
Digital environments today constitute a central lever in the promotional strategies of the tobacco and nicotine industry, due to advertising formats that are more difficult to identify and a high capacity for targeting audiences. Of the 140 publications included, 27 relate to advertising and promotion on the Internet (19.3%) and 22 to social networks (15.7%), i.e. almost a third of the sources analyzed. These practices are mainly documented by recent work, with 70.3% of studies on the Internet and 82% of those devoted to social networks published between 2016 and 2023.
Online promotional content is characterized by a great diversity of formats and messages. On the websites of brands and distributors, advertisements highlight the modernity, personalization and performance of products, in particular for electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco devices, promoting their technical characteristics, the variety of aromas or implicit promises of less harm. This ability to display products in a digital environment largely free of constraints contributes to strengthening their attractiveness and raises the question, from a public health point of view, of banning online retail sales, in a logic consistent with the removal of visibility of products in physical sales locations. On social networks, promotion mainly takes indirect and hybrid forms, blurring the line between commercial communication and ordinary content. The review highlights a massive use of influencer marketing and publications associating products with attractive lifestyles, positive experiences or valued social identities, strengthening their appeal among adolescents and young adults. The difficulties in applying regulatory frameworks are accentuated by the rise of micro-influencers, whose publications, often perceived as spontaneous or authentic, do not systematically mention the existence of a commercial relationship, contributing to trivialize and promote nicotine products in a diffuse manner.
Several European studies establish a statistically significant association between exposure to this digital promotional content and susceptibility to the use, experimentation and actual use of electronic cigarettes among young people. The review also highlights a shift in the determinants of initiation towards digital platforms: exposure to nicotine products via social networks is now described as more predictive of subsequent consultation than exposure via films or television.
In France, the results of observatories carried out by the CNCT also confirm these trends and highlight a particularly significant advertising presence on social networks, characterized by the active promotion of vaping devices by numerous manufacturers. These strategies are based in particular on the use of influencers, the presentation of products in content promoting attractive lifestyles, as well as the dissemination of promotional offers, in contradiction with the applicable restrictions on advertising and promotion.
The authors of this European study emphasize that the more or less clear and general nature of the advertising bans in force in the countries leads to varying levels of application of protection. Data shows that exposure to promotional strategies is higher in countries with incomplete or insufficiently enforced regulatory frameworks, but also persists, at lower levels, in states with comprehensive bans, due to difficulties in enforcement particularly due to the transnational nature of media and digital platforms. These findings underline the need to strengthen and update certain existing legal instruments, in particular the European directive on tobacco advertising and the directive on tobacco products, in particular in order to broaden the scope of application to all new products. The authors thus emphasize the importance of full and consistent application of Article 13 of the FCTC, particularly in digital environments, cross-border communications and indirect forms of promotion, as well as the strengthening of cooperation between States and monitoring and enforcement mechanisms, in order to sustainably reduce the exposure of populations, particularly young people, to the promotional strategies of the tobacco and nicotine industry.
©Tobacco Free Generation
AE
[1] Sabo G, Carnicer-Pont D, Lopez AM, et al. Tob Control Epub ahead of print: [14/01/2026]. doi:10.1136/ tc-2025-059329
[2] The PRISMA-ScR protocol is an international methodological framework for scoping reviews, aiming to ensure transparency and rigor in the identification, selection and synthesis of literature. It makes it possible to map the state of knowledge on a given subject, without systematic evaluation of the quality of the included studies.
[3] Point-of-sale advertising barometers, CNCT
National Committee Against Smoking |
