Recently, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in the UK conducted an investigation regarding two product promotion videos on TikTok related to ELFBAR and HQD.
An investigation by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has found that ELFBAR and HQD violated UK advertising rules by promoting unlicensed nicotine-containing e-cigarettes on TikTok with underage celebrities as the main characters (specifically in the case of HQD). ASA has reached out to content creators and TikTok, requesting the removal of these posts.
2FIRSTS learned from ELFBAR that the company responded to ASA via email on May 9th and took appropriate action promptly.
ELFBAR has announced that it stopped content and marketing for TikTok in the UK from July 2022. Since then, the company has followed its internal advertising guidelines and prohibited employees from engaging in non-compliant advertising and marketing activities. Upon receiving a preliminary notice from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in October 2022, ELFBAR immediately launched an internal review. The review found that the videos created by ELFBAR's outsourced marketing provider were inappropriate and did not comply with its content guidelines. Meanwhile, ELFBAR contacted the TikTok content creators and requested the post be deleted.
ELFBAR announced that it has improved its internal advertising content inspection and monitoring mechanisms to avoid similar issues from happening again.
According to a report from the Evening Standard, HQD stated that they have removed all related content concerning this matter until the investigation by the Advertising Standards Authority is concluded. They also mentioned that they will take measures to ensure that the product is not marketed to a young audience.
Reference list:
The UK's advertising watchdog, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), has prohibited the promotion of vape products through TikTok by Elf Bar and HQD Tech.
Disclaimer
This article is provided solely for professional research, industry discussion, and informational purposes. Any references to brands, companies, products, technologies, or policies are made for factual reporting and analytical purposes only, and do not constitute endorsement, recommendation, promotion, or advertising by 2Firsts.
Nicotine-containing products, including but not limited to cigarettes, e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products, and nicotine pouches, carry significant health risks. Readers are responsible for complying with all applicable laws and regulations in their respective jurisdictions, including age restrictions and access limitations.
The information contained in this article should not be regarded as investment, legal, medical, regulatory, or commercial advice. While 2Firsts strives to ensure the accuracy and reliability of its content, it does not assume liability for any direct or indirect loss arising from errors, omissions, inaccuracies, or reliance on the information contained herein.
This article is not intended for individuals below the legal age for accessing tobacco or nicotine-related information in their jurisdiction.
Copyright Notice
This article is either original content produced by 2Firsts or content reproduced, translated, summarized, or adapted from third-party sources with attribution where applicable. The intellectual property rights of the original content remain with 2Firsts or the respective original rights holders.
No individual or organization may copy, reproduce, distribute, republish, modify, translate, or otherwise use this content without prior authorization. Any unauthorized use may result in legal action.
For copyright-related inquiries, corrections, or removal requests, please contact: info@2firsts.com.
AI-Assisted Translation and Editing Notice
Portions of this article may have been translated, edited, or reviewed with the assistance of artificial intelligence tools to improve efficiency and readability. Due to the limitations of AI-assisted translation and editing, discrepancies, omissions, or inaccuracies may exist when compared with the original source.
Where applicable, readers are advised to refer to the original source for the most complete and accurate information. If you identify any errors or believe that any content infringes upon your rights, please contact us at info@2firsts.com, and we will review and address the matter promptly.
