Social media marketing by tobacco and bidi companies, a growing public health concern

Patna: Tobacco industries were using social media platforms and were selling their products online which has emerged as a major public health concern.

School of percentage oncology chairman Dr Dhirendra Narayan referring to a recent study “Selling Death on Social Media: How Bidis Are Reaching Consumers Online” conducted by global public health organisation Vital Strategies said that out of 344 instances of bidi marketing on social media between December 2020 and August 2021, in 79% of instances, bidi products were being directly marketed with clear images of the product.

Dr Sinha said that nearly a quarter (24%) of bidi marketing on social media used messaging depicting bidis as part of an aspirational, fun or luxurious lifestyle.

One-fifth (20%) of bidi marketing on social media used messages related to a community celebration, such as birthdays of famous figures and religious festivals including Holi and Eid—likely as an attempt to normalise the use of tobacco during holidays and connect it with family and community.

The products were often marketed indirectly through more clandestine ways to circumvent current advertising regulations, he quipped.

UNI