Australia banned vape ads more than two years ago – so why are they still all over social media?
Why Vape Ads Still Flood Australian Social Media
Australia banned vape ads more than - More than two years have passed since Australia banned vape ads more than two years ago, yet promotional content continues flooding social media platforms. Illegal vendors have increasingly pivoted to digital channels to market nicotine-containing products to Australian consumers. Experts are now urging regulatory bodies to strengthen enforcement mechanisms, particularly by imposing heavier penalties on the social media platforms themselves rather than solely targeting individual sellers.
A Coordinated Network of Promotional Posts
Investigation by Guardian Australia uncovered an extensive network of promotional posts spanning TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. These accounts actively promote the sale of unauthorized vaping products directly to Australian audiences. The promotional material typically highlights popular vape brands available for purchase, emphasizing that inventory is stored in local Australian warehouses and shipped via express delivery services, with many vendors claiming delivery within just a few days.
Most accounts instruct potential buyers to complete purchases through private messaging functions or direct them toward encrypted communication applications like WhatsApp. Analysis reveals considerable similarities across numerous posts, including consistent visual styles and editing methodologies, which points toward coordinated efforts across different platforms. Additionally, some of the content appears to have been generated using artificial intelligence technology. In certain cases, TikTok has boosted this promotional material as paid advertising.
Regulatory Response and Enforcement Actions
The Therapeutic Goods Administration confirmed awareness of thousands of comparable posts and announced it is implementing "strong and sustained" measures to eliminate them. Australia maintains some of the most stringent anti-vaping regulations globally. The legislative framework, introduced in 2024, prohibited vape advertising across all media channels, encompassing social media platforms.
The TGA, responsible for enforcing these regulations, stated it "was aware of vaping goods being illegally promoted for sale through different online forums." Between January 2024 and June 2026, the agency reported removing over 8,500 unlawful vape advertising posts from social media channels while redirecting more than 390 websites that were unlawfully promoting vaping products. Furthermore, the TGA issued more than 90 infringement notices, generating over $1.5 million in fines. The agency emphasized that it "took signals of non-compliance seriously" and "worked closely with online platforms to deter and address alleged unlawful advertising."
Expert Criticism and Platform Accountability
Despite existing legislation, Professor Becky Freeman, a public health researcher at the University of Sydney, observed that the promotional content remains "so blatant, they're not even bothering to hide it." Freeman attributed the persistence of these posts to the fact that accountability primarily rests with individual sellers rather than the platforms hosting the content.
Freeman called for "enforcement at the platform level as well as the individual ad level", adding that "these platforms aren't doing the job that they promised they would do".
"Rather than just this approach where we take these ads down … that whack-a-mole approach … the platforms themselves should be fined for allowing this content to go up in the first place," Freeman said.
Platform Responses and Community Guidelines
TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube each acknowledged that the identified content breached their community guidelines. A TikTok representative explained that accounts sharing such material violated rules that "prohibit trading, marketing, or providing access to tobacco, drugs, and other regulated substances." The platform further noted it was "constantly working to proactively identify, review, and remove content that violates our policies," encouraging users to report videos or accounts they believe should not appear on TikTok.
A Meta spokesperson similarly encouraged users "to report items that may breach our rules so we can review and take the appropriate action." YouTube clarified that the site "prohibited content that aims to directly sell, link to, or facilitate access" to illegal products and services, noting this restriction extended to video descriptions, comments, live streams, external links, and verbal instructions within videos.
All three platforms confirmed they had banned or terminated the accounts identified by Guardian Australia. The accounts responsible for posting the vape content did not respond to requests for comment.