Advertising Association chief executive Tim Lefroy has called for the Tory Government to reverse its decision to ban e-cigarette advertising following Brexit.
Lefroy contacted business secretary Sajid Javid and John Whittingdale, the culture secretary, urging the government to commit to a self-regulated ad industry.
The Leave campaign narrowly defeated Remain by 51.9 to 48.1%, leaving the status of the Tobacco Products Directive unclear.
In a written letter, Lefroy argued that the government should not go through with e-cig advertising bans that are related to public health issues, and instead should collaborate with the vaping community for better health outcomes and avoid “non-evidence-based appeasement to campaign groups for optical effects”.
"Advertising is the second largest creative industry, but more importantly it’s an economic activity and bellwether for the economy as a whole.”
"Advertiser confidence should be a high priority for Government and a clear commitment to these principles would send an immediate, positive signal," said Lefroy.
It did look like the European Union’s TPD was going to regulate e-cigs heavily, creating new laws for vapers to abide to. But Brexit has blown this apart, and it is unclear how the marketing and advertising e-cigs will be affected.
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