ASA Ruling on Flavour Warehouse Ltd. t/a Elfbar

Several websites promoting one e-cigarette company, Flavour Warehouse Ltd. t/a Elfbar, were challenged by Imperial Tobacco Ltd. and Nicoventures Retail (UK) Ltd. The websites contained numerous statements including “best” vape; “delicious flavors”; “make the switch today”; and “check out the great reviews”. Complainants understood that only factual, not promotional, content was permitted on marketers’ own websites for unlicensed nicotine containing e-cigarettes and their components.

UK regulations clearly prohibit online advertising of e-cigarettes but allow a manufacturer to provide factual product information such as the name, content, and price of the product on its own websites. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) concluded that the statements went further than simple factual claims and constituted descriptive, promotional language. Further, the phrase “sign up today for special bonuses and extra points” was designed to entice new customers and was therefore promotional rather than factual. Thus, the ASA ordered that the ads not appear again in the form complained about.

ASA Ruling on Flavour Warehouse Ltd t/a Elfbar, Internet (website content), Complaint Ref: G23-1196970 (2023).

  • United Kingdom
  • Sep 20, 2023
  • Advertising Standards Authority
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Parties

Plaintiff

  • Imperial Tobacco Ltd.
  • Nicoventures Retail (UK) Ltd.

Defendant Flavour Warehouse Ltd. t/a Elfbar

Legislation Cited

Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016

CAP Code

Related Documents

Type of Litigation

Tobacco Control Topics

Substantive Issues

None

Type of Tobacco Product

"We understood the claims were intended to provide information about the Elfbar 600 product and the loyalty scheme. Although we acknowledged that a simple description of the product would have been acceptable, we considered the claim “Voted #1 Best Disposable Vape” was promotional in nature. We acknowledged the claim was intended to reflect that the Elfbar 600 was the best-selling disposable vote according to Nielson data and had won an award, although the ad did not state which award it had won. We considered the claim went beyond being factual as the use of the word “best”, in the context of a marketing communication, had the effect of promoting the product. We also considered the use of the phrases “delicious flavours”, “MAKE THE SWITCH TODAY!” and “check out the great reviews” went further than simple factual claims and constituted descriptive, promotional language. We also considered the phrase “sign up today for special bonuses and extra points” was designed to entice new customers and was therefore promotional rather than factual. For those reasons, we concluded that the claims were promotional and therefore breached the Code."