Paid Social Media Advertising on Vaping in Australia: A Descriptive Study Using Meta Ad Library

This study investigated how various advertisers engage in vaping-related marketing on social media, with a focus on message stance, audience targeting and advertising strategies, using data from the Meta Ad Library. This is particularly relevant given the growing concern around vaping among young people and recent policy reforms in Australia.

We analysed vaping-related advertisements from Meta platforms between May 7, 2018 and July 31, 2024. Keyword searches identified relevant advertisements. Descriptive statistics were applied to the number of impressions, spending, duration, year posted, audience size and platform distribution, with advertisers classified into government, politicians/political groups, non-governmental organisations (NGOs)/universities, commercial entities, news sources and undisclosed groups.

A total of 861 advertisements were identified. After duplicates and non-vaping related advertisements were removed, 394 were included in the final analysis. Of the anti-vaping messages (n = 269), 37% were posted by NGOs/universities and 35% by politicians/political groups, while pro-vaping messages (n = 87) primarily originated from commercial entities (44%) and undisclosed groups (47%). Anti-vaping campaigns had higher audience reach, targeted all ages and spending varied widely compared with pro-vaping messages, which predominantly targeted the 18-34 age group.

The advertisers of pro- and anti-vaping messages on social media differ in their expenditure and demographic targeting. Commercial entities were still able to post pro-vaping content despite Meta's advertising restrictions. SO WHAT?: These findings offer timely insights for health promotion practitioners and policymakers. Better understanding of paid social media advertising practices can inform the development of more targeted, transparent and effective digital health campaigns.