TV ads sexualise e-cigarettes, warn campaigners

Anti-smoking campaigners have accused TV adverts which show e-cigarette use for the first time of "sexualising" vaping.

The British ads for VIP e-cigarettes, which features a woman exhaling vapour, first aired last night during a break in ITV1’s Grantchester following a change in the law. But campaign groups have said the tobacco-free gadgets should not be aimed at a general audience and questioned whether new advertising rules are fit for purpose.

Deborah Arnott, chief executive of anti-smoking charity ASH, said: “Vaping is safer than smoking but it’s not harmless and e-cigarettes should only be promoted to smokers.