BACKGROUND: Online tobacco advertising has become a subject of concern due to its potential impact on public health. Despite restrictions on direct advertising, tobacco companies have employed various strategies to promote their products online, including through social media influencers and subtle placements on various platforms, including YouTube.
METHODS: In the periods of August - December 2023 and March - August 2024, Vital Strategies and the Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFEnet) monitored and reported tobacco advertising and promotion content on YouTube. SAFEnet is only one of five Indonesian civil society organizations considered as YouTube Priority Flagger. The program helps provide robust tools to government agencies and CSOs. This program used keywords related to tobacco advertising and promotion to identify which videos violated their guidelines.
RESULTS: The monitoring found 2.328 videos on YouTube related to tobacco, vape, and electronic cigarette advertising and promotions that violated YouTube’s Community Guidelines. The videos were classified into eight types: product review, smoking activity, product talk show, product recommendation, tutorial related to product use, showcase of brand, straight advertising, and price promotion. Most of the violated videos were product reviews (81.62%) and the products most seen were conventional cigarettes (64%), electronic cigarettes (25.3%), and other products, such as cigars, and dried tobacco leaves. YouTube responded by terminating three accounts (more than 1 million subscribers), age-restricting 70% and deleting 15%.
CONCLUSIONS: The Priority Flagger Program to monitor and report tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship has been proven as an effective alternative in times when government regulations and enforcements are lacking. The findings have also been presented as evidence in the Ministry of Health’s enforcement effort. Digital rights and consumer advocates have also raised the need to revise the platform’s Community Guidelines in order to respond to tobacco industry’s new online marketing strategies.