BACKGROUND: Heated Tobacco Products (HTPs) are marketed as less harmful alternatives to cigarettes but their long-term health effects remain unclear. In Europe, HTP marketing regulations vary widely, and it is unknown if marketing of HTPs on social media differs across countries with different regulatory frameworks. This study examines the extent, forms, and content of social media promotion of HTPs in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Germany.
METHODS: Meltwater, a media monitoring tool, was utilized to retrieve social media posts related to HTPs in the UK, Ireland, and Germany. Search queries, refined through pilot testing, incorporated relevant keywords and hashtags to identify posts across Instagram, Facebook, X, Pinterest, and TikTok. Only public posts in English and German were included. The identified posts promoting HTPs were then analyzed using content analysis.
RESULTS: No promotional posts were found in Ireland, where HTPs are regulated as tobacco products, unlike in the UK (47%) and Germany (49%), where they are treated as ‘novel’ tobacco products. Most promotions were from commercial social media accounts (96%), including online shops, physical shops and brands. Electronic heating devices were the most promoted HTP product subtype (UK:39%; Germany:52%), followed by heated tobacco sticks and other HTP accessories. IQOS was the leading HTP brand (UK:63%; Germany:61%). Promotions were generally neutral in appeal to age and gender, though Germany had a higher proportion of posts targeting youth (UK:8%; Germany:34%) and women (UK:6%; Germany:18%). Promotions in the UK mostly focused on ‘offers and deals’ (44%), while those in Germany emphasized more on ‘design and technical features’ (42%) of the product.
CONCLUSIONS: There is a substantial presence of promotional content in countries that classify HTPs as novel tobacco products rather than as conventional tobacco. Regulating HTPs in the same manner as conventional tobacco, as in Ireland, could significantly reduce HTP promotion and help curb their appeal.