Social media platforms bypassing advertising laws?

More needs to be done to prevent the advertising and sale of illegal tobacco products online, a Cork TD said this week.

Deputy Noel McCarthy, Fine Gael TD for Cork East, claimed some tobacco sellers are using social media platforms to bypass advertising laws for the illegal sale of their products and added that Revenue needs to work closely with social media companies and Coimisiún na Meán to prevent the advertising and sale of illegal tobacco products online.

He said: “We need to see significant engagement from social media companies for better regulation and greater enforcement of these advertising laws.

“Tobacco sellers that are willing to bypass rules on advertising tobacco products, may also be willing to bypass age restrictions for the sale of their products. This is really concerning and needs to be addressed.”

Deputy McCarthy said Ireland has always been to the forefront in the control of tobacco products. “We need to continue this by engaging with social media companies to ensure advertising of illegal tobacco products does not happen. Combatting the effects of marketing tobacco to young people is essential to decrease the numbers of new smokers each year.”

He said the sale of these products undermines public health rules and can put people’s lives at risk. Currently Coimisiún na Meán cannot make social media companies immediately remove illegal content. Instead, this content must be reported to the social media company. If no action is taken, it can be reported to Coimisiún na Meán.

He said having more engagement between these groups would be another step towards reducing tobacco consumption.

“It’s shocking to see the illegal advertising and sale of tobacco is being allowed on social media platforms, we need to see Revenue, Coimisiúin na Meán, and all social media platforms work together to ensure this kind of content is immediately removed,” he added.