ASA Adjudication on E-Cigilicious

An ad for e-cigarettes stated: “a safer . . . alternative to smoking” and “help your loved ones change their life this Christmas.” The ad featured a woman wearing a Santa hat. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) concluded that the claim “a safer . . . alternative to smoking” had not been substantiated and was misleading because the company had not provided evidence showing that their own e-cigarettes were less harmful than traditional cigarettes. The ASA also found that ad implied that e-cigarettes could be used as a smoking cessation device but that these particular e-cigarettes had not been licensed by the government for this purpose and was likely to mislead. The ASA found that the ad was not likely to appeal to children given that it was common for ads to contain references to Christmas during that time of year and the model in the ad was over 18 years old. The ASA ordered the ad not to appear again in its current form.

ASA Adjudication on E-Cigilicious, Complaint Ref: A13-252279 (2014).

  • United Kingdom
  • Apr 2, 2014
  • Advertising Standards Authority
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Parties

Plaintiff Unidentified complainant

Defendant E-Cigilicious

Legislation Cited

Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP Code), Edition 12, Rule 3.7 (Substantiation)

Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) Code, Edition 12, Rule 1.3 (Social responsibility)

Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) Code, Edition 12, Rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising)

Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) Code, Rules 12.1 and 12.11 (Medicines, medical devices, health-related products, and beauty products)

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"We acknowledged that the studies and literature referenced by E-Cigilicious in their response suggested that e-cigarettes in general could be a safer alternative to traditional cigarettes. However, we had not been provided with sufficient robust evidence to substantiate the claims that E-Cigilicious' own e-cigarettes were less harmful than traditional cigarettes. Furthermore, E-Cigilicious had not provided documentary evidence from MHRA specifically related to their own products in support of their claim. We noted that CAP Code required any medicinal product, for which medical claims were made, must have been licensed by the MHRA. We concluded that the claim E-Cigilicious e-cigarettes were safer alternative to smoking had not been substantiated and was misleading."