Tobacco Ads on Instagram: A Loophole for Young Eyes

Tobacco companies are finding clever ways to bypass Instagram's rules meant to keep their ads away from young people. A recent study found that underage users could easily access tobacco-related content almost half the time. This is a big deal because Instagram is supposed to block these posts from users under 21. The study looked at nearly 1, 700 posts from six major tobacco brands. It found that many posts didn't follow the rules. For example, most posts didn't have age warnings, and many didn't disclose if influencers were paid to promote the products. Some brands, like Lucky Strike and Lost Mary, were worse at following the rules than others.This isn't just a small problem. Tobacco companies know that young people are active on social media. They use bright colors, fun flavors, and celebrities to make their products seem appealing. The study shows that Instagram's rules aren't strong enough to stop this. Experts say that both Instagram and government agencies need to do more to enforce these rules. They argue that the current policies are not doing enough to protect young people from seeing tobacco ads. This raises questions about how seriously social media platforms take their responsibility to keep young users safe.