When avatars smoke

The Star

13-07-2025

WHILE smoking worldwide has been in decline for much of the last 20 years, the most recent trend lines point to a flattening of cigarette sales. This is mainly because sales among youth, especially young women, are increasing in a substantial number of countries, says global health advocate Dr Mary-Ann Etiebet.
Billions are being spent by the industry on longstanding practices like political lobbying and campaign contributions, as well as the production of colourful, flavoured e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products (HTPs) and nicotine pouches, to hook youngsters to nicotine, added the Vital Strategies president and CEO when met at the WHO World Conference on Tobacco Control (WCTC).
Drawing on data from the Tobacco Enforcement and Reporting Movement (TERM), Vital Strategies researchers revealed the growing presence of tobacco products in emerging digital spaces including the meta-verse, advergaming, and Ts.
The study highlighted how brands are leveraging on immersive technologies – such as virtual concerts, branded avatars, and digital storefronts – to promote tobacco products, often targeting youth in every corner of the Internet where regulations are weakest.
'As digital platforms become the primary spaces where young people learn, socialise, and play, we urgently need coordinated international action to modernise safeguards and close regulatory gaps before a new generation is exposed to harm,' said behavioural scientist and Vital Strategies vice president Dr Nandita Murukutla.
Marketing in the metaverse
Nandita, who led the creation of Canary, a digital surveillance platform that monitors online marketing of harmful products, said of particular concern is that the spaces targeted, including immersive virtual events, gaming and immersive platforms, are overwhelmingly full of young audiences and influencer-driven content that promotes tobacco in subtle, engaging ways.
'Policymakers often lament, 'We see it online but it's gone and we have no proof how to address it'. They needed proof to stop online marketing which was what led to Canary. Our goal is to identify emerging threats before they become big problems,' she said, adding that the organisation has been monitoring these digital spaces in India, Mexico and Indonesia, but hopes to expand its work if resources permit.
Nandita: As digital platforms become the primary social space for young people,we urgently need coordinated international action to modernise safeguards.
Brand extension strategies, for example perfumes with a tobacco product brand, is being widely used to ensure that vapes and HTP brands are visible, she said.
Online, influencers are being paid to talk about the tobacco products they are using to 'educate' their young followers on what to use and how to use it.
'We are also seeing lots of glamourised lifestyle promotions on immersive digital platforms with cool, tech-forward images, and calls on users to create avatars of themselves in the metaverse so there is actual engagement via technology between the youth and industry.
'By getting youth into the metaverse, where smoking bans do not apply, the use of tobacco products is promoted and normalised.
'Even online gaming platforms are being used to promote tobacco products,' Nandita said.
The digital space is growing as a tobacco trap for youth and women.
Brand affiliation with community groups particularly in popular sports like football and badminton, and in entertainment events, are also ways youth are being drawn in to tobacco use, she added.
Meanwhile, women are targeted via corporate social responsibility programmes and special events like Women's Day and Mothers Day.
Where's the outrage?
There's been so much anger over kids being bullied online yet there is no outrage when the very same population is being sold harmful tobacco products online, lamented Nandita.
'It's shocking. Why are parents and the public not upset and demanding more action?
'It's because they don't know how much digital marketing is going on online.
'There needs to be greater advocacy and education of the general population,' she said.
A new global analysis by the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) on data from 2012 to 2021 reveals alarming levels of youth exposure to tobacco marketing across 119 countries.
Conducted by researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Foundation, CDC's Office on Smoking and Health, and Research Triangle Institute (RTI) International, the study presented at the recent World Conference on Tobacco Control, highlighted the persistent global influence of tobacco industry tactics on adolescents aged between 13 and 15.
'Our findings revealed that far too many young people around the world continue to be exposed to harmful tobacco marketing tactics – exposure that risks initiating a new generation into tobacco use,' said CDC Foundation programme officer and evaluation specialist Adriana Dragicevic.
The results underscore the urgent need for stronger enforcement of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), particularly Article 13, which calls for a comprehensive ban on tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship, to shield young people.
Regulations work
Where there are good regulations, there are lower volumes of marketing and the nature of marketing changes, Nandita noted.
And where there are strong laws, the marketing through third party retailers and brand affiliate groups, brand extensions, and community marketing, becomes much more indirect.
'Governments need the capacity to monitor these insidious campaigns and this is where working with civil society groups like ours become vital to flag and remove these online advertisements.
'As Malaysia is rolling out enforcement (of the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act 2024), an inter-ministerial framework is crucial because jurisdiction will often lie outside of the Health Ministry.
'The authorities responsible and the processes (of implementation) must be clear,' she said, adding that the WHO guideline on digital marketing regulations would prove useful.
It's a fallacy to claim that because promotional and marketing activities are being done online, governments are helpless to act, she pointed out.
What's important is to have a regulatory framework, enforcement mechanisms and efforts to create social norms that reinforce the regulations.
'For example, now when the public sees someone puffing in no-smoking areas, they know that it's unacceptable and they will tell the smoker to put out the cigarette.
'Having paper regulations alone is not enough to ensure effective implementation but it is an important starting point,' she stressed, highlighting the importance of cross-border cooperation for the respective nations to implement their regulations and the FCTC, particularly in relation to digital marketing.
Health taxes, said Dr Etiebet, remain one of the most effective, yet underutilised strategies to save lives, strengthen economies and generate new government revenue.
'Public health proponents are calling on countries to urgently adopt health taxes on harmful commodities,' she said, sharing how a new tool from Vital Strategies, Economics for Health at Johns Hopkins University, and American Cancer Society, can support countries in their efforts to estimate the tax revenue gain possible depending on different potential tax scenarios.
Released on June 17, the Cost Recovery and Revenue Estimator (CoRRE) is an interactive data modeling tool that builds country-by-country scenarios to demonstrate how tobacco taxes generate millions in revenue and can help countries recover millions in smoking-related costs to realise the 'triple win' of saving lives, reducing health care costs and generating revenue, she said.
Vital Strategies works with governments and civil society organisations around the world to support tobacco control initiatives that are aligned with the World Health Organisation (WHO) FCTC and MPOWER tobacco reduction measures. All interviewees featured were participants of the WHO World Conference on Tobacco Control (WCTC). Held from June 23 to 25 in Dublin, Ireland, the three-day conference was organised by the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) and supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Held from June 23 to 25, the WCTC serves as a pivotal gathering for tobacco control experts, policymakers, and advocates from around the globe. — Photos by International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease