Big tobacco targets children in metaverse

Following declines in smoking rates, the tobacco industry is harnessing technologies used by young people to get the next generation into smoking.

Smoking rates have declined, and the tobacco industry is clearly not happy about it.

So, to fight the decline in smokers and sales, the industry is circumventing advertising regulations and using technologies common amongst young people to advertise their products.

A new report by Vital Strategies’ Tobacco Enforcement and Reporting Movement (TERM) found that tobacco companies are using the metaverse, non-fungible token (NFT) art, and other technologies popular among young people to influence the next generation of smokers.

The tobacco industry seems to be gamifying advertising, with the report revealing that tobacco companies are creating games in order to sell their products.

TERM found a game created by tobacco companies that “indirectly promotes one of the largest tobacco companies in the country.”

The country and name of the company were not mentioned in the report’s key findings.

However, an Indian tobacco company created an NFT to celebrate the company’s 93rd anniversary, the report details.

Tobacco companies are also using the metaverse, one specifically in Indonesia, to promote partying and smoking culture within Mark Zuckerberg’s virtual world.

The social media post depicts metaverse avatars smoking and encourages its followers, particularly introverts, to party in the metaverse.

What’s troubling is that metaverse users tend to be younger, aged 13 and below, according to The Guardian.

For decades, big tobacco has tried to get youngsters into smoking, from creating products tailored to kids to placing ads in popular magazines, the American Lung Association claims.

Digital spaces and new technologies appear to be the new frontier for tobacco advertising, and a new way of making smoking appear cool to young people.