Gogglebox's George Baggs slammed after vape promotion breaches advertising rules
Gogglebox star George Baggs has been found to have broken advertising rules by promoting vapes whilst underage.
It comes after the influencer and podcast host, 19, posted a video of himself using nicotine e-cigarettes on TikTok.
The legal age to promote vapes is 25 and promoting nicotine e-cigarettes that are not licenced as medicines, is banned from newspapers, magazines and online.
George was banned from posting a clip of him holding one of the products again after an investigation by the Advertising Standards Authority.
He was also warned not to use under 25s to advertise e-cigarettes.
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The watchdog found the influencer and e-cigarette brand HQD Tech broke the advertising code by promoting the e-cigarettes and their components on TikTok.
George Baggs broke advertising rules last year following an investigation
The former Gogglebox star turned social media personality was promoting vapes on his TikTok page (PA)The design of TikTok meant that even those who did not follow George's account could have been exposed to the video, the ASA said.
In the video posted last June, George walked towards the camera holding up a HQD WAVE disposable vape in its packaging.
The TV star walked towards the camera holding up a HQD WAVE disposable e-cigarette in the packaging.
On-screen text alongside the footage read: “Matching my outfit with my new HQD v@pe”.
As the clip went on, George began dressing while vaping and the caption underneath said: “Always get asked to do these sorta vids so here ya go :) #HQDVIP #uk #trending.”
Advertising regulations state that when posting a paid advert, the social media user must disclose this with either "ad" or "advert" on the post.
The advert was taken down following the investigation and is banned from appearing again on social media.
He appeared on the Channel 4 show with his family (TikTok / Joe Baggs)In its ruling, the ASA said: “We told HQD Tech Ltd t/a HQD Tech UK and George Baggs that marketing communications with the direct or indirect effect of promoting nicotine-containing e-cigarettes and their components which were not licensed as medicines should not be made from a public TikTok account.
“We also told HDQ Tech that if advertising in media permitted, they must not show people who are, or seem to be, under 25 years of age, using e-cigarettes or playing a significant role.”
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When the post became under investigation the company removed all content posted by George.
Investigators from the ASA said HQD Tech will enforce extra checks on all content from third parties and take extra steps to make sure younger audiences are not being targeted.
The report added: “TikTok said the video was user-generated content and it did not appear in paid-for ad space, neither was it disclosed as branded content.
“They said that on being notified of the complaint, they had made the content unavailable to users in the UK as it was a breach of their Terms of Service, which prohibited the advertising of cigarettes and tobacco products [which included e-cigarettes].”
George appeared on Channel 4's Gogglebox alongside his mum Lisa, dad Terry, and brother Joe.
The Bagg's family first appeared in 2020 but quit the show last year.
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