Sainsburys and Morrisons told to stop advertising heated tobacco

Sainsburys and Morrisons told to stop tobacco ads 7 hours ago Share Save Share Save BBC Advert for a heated tobacco device on display in a Morrisons store in London The government has written to Sainsbury's and Morrisons asking them to stop "advertising and promoting" heated tobacco products, which it says is against the law. The BBC reported in February the supermarkets were displaying posters and video screens showing devices which create a nicotine-containing vapour by heating tobacco with an electric current. At the time, both supermarkets said they believed the adverts were legal. In response to the letter, Sainsbury's said it was in "close contact with the government", while Morrisons said it would reply "in due course". In 2002, the Labour government under Tony Blair passed a law banning tobacco advertising. It defined a tobacco product as something designed to be "smoked, sniffed, sucked or chewed". Morrisons has argued that this means that it doesn't apply to heated tobacco products, as they don't produce smoke. Advertising for Philip Morris International's (PMI) iQos heated tobacco device on posters and video screens was still on display in Sainsbury's and Morrisons stores visited by the BBC in June, where they were visible to children. PMI said it believes the Department of Health's interpretation of the law is wrong, and said it has "complied with all applicable laws and regulations" since it launched iQos in 2016. The government has now written to the supermarkets clarifying that in its opinion, the law does apply to these products. A Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) spokesperson told the BBC: "In May, we wrote to supermarkets reiterating that the Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002… applies to all tobacco products currently on the market, and formally requested they stop advertising and promoting heated tobacco products in stores. "All tobacco products are harmful to health," the spokesperson added. Surveys by the charity Action on Smoking and Health suggest that awareness of heated tobacco products has risen sharply over the past year, and is even higher among young adults, compared with those over 40.