MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazilian digital platforms banned from advertising vaping devices

“Our goal is to ensure that the digital environment respects legislation and promotes consumer safety,” Correa said

Brazil's National Consumer Secretary (Senacon) has ordered digital platforms, including YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Enjoei, and Mercado Livre, to remove advertisements promoting or selling electronic cigarettes (vapes) and other tobacco-derived products within 48 hours. This directive follows Brazil's continued ban on these products, upheld by the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) in April 2025.

The e-commerce sites were duly notified and the deadline for banning the ads expires on May 1. Companies should also reinforce control mechanisms to avoid new publications of this type.

Anvisa Resolutions RDC nº 46/2009 and RDC nº 855/2024 ban the manufacture, importation, advertising, and sale of electronic cigarettes nationwide.

“It is illegal and represents serious risks to public health, because they lack regulation or authorization to be marketed,” National Consumer Secretary Wadih Damous said in a statement.

A survey validated by the National Council to Combat Piracy and Crimes against Intellectual Property (CNCP), linked to Senacon, identified 1,822 illegal pages or advertisements related to electronic cigarettes on the notified platforms. Almost 1.5 million subscribers are targeted with these advertisements, with Instagram accounting for 88.5% of these ads, YouTube 6.6%, and Mercado Livre 2.4%. TikTok and Enjoei were reported to have a lower volume of occurrences.

“Cooperation between the public sector and technology companies is fundamental to preventing the circulation of illegal products. Our goal is to ensure that the digital environment respects legislation and promotes consumer safety,” CNCP Executive-Secretary Andrey Correa said.

Earlier last month, Senacon notified the Nuvemshop platform to remove virtual stores that illegally commercialized nicotine packets (snus), another tobacco-derived product banned from sale in the country. (Source: Agencia Brasil)