Highly addictive nicotine products are being advertised to young people by influencers on social media, a charity has warned.

Velo nicotine pouches, small white bags that people put under their lips, are being pushed by British American Tobacco (BAT), one of the biggest tobacco firms in the world.

 
Since the Guardian raised the issue with Instagram, the social media company owned by Facebook, has removed the content.

Analysis of a social media campaign by BAT to promote Velo pouches, conducted between January and May this year by the nonprofit group Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, shows that more than a quarter of their social media audience was between 12 and 24 years old.

Eleven influencers published 48 posts to an audience of more than 1.4 million people – the majority of whom were in the UK. According to Klear, a social listening platform that analyses influencer audiences, 28% of the audience viewing this content was under 24.

Facebook and Instagram outlaw adverts promoting the sale or use of tobacco or nicotine “unless they are cessation products”. The policy prohibits “tobacco products, vaporisers, electronic cigarettes, or any other products that simulate smoking”.

A Meta spokesperson, representing Instagram, said: “We don’t allow ads or branded content that promotes tobacco-related products on Instagram, and we’ll continue to remove content that breaks our rules, like we did in this case. Brands can post about tobacco-related products, but this is restricted to adults over the age of 18.”

Caroline Renzulli, international communications officer for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said the marketing was “totally absurd” for portraying Velo as a “cool lifestyle product that you should try out even if you’re not a smoker”.

She said: “It is totally shameful that tobacco companies continue to engage in this kind of behaviour on social media – particularly while claiming that they want to help smokers quit. I find it laughable that any company could claim with a straight face that this content is targeting adult smokers.

“By using DJs, lifestyle influencers and gamers, BAT is ensuring that they are reaching nonsmokers and potential new customers with these Instagram campaigns. They are equating a highly addictive product with aspirational influencer content.”

Velo posts have even included influencers posting under a popular social media format known as GRWM, which stands for “get ready with me”. This is when influencers film themselves getting dressed to go out.

“In the past few months, I’ve found about a dozen UK influencers who have either appeared on BAT channels to promote Velo or are using their own platforms to push Velo on Instagram,” Renzulli said.

One poster was D’vey, a disco and house DJ based in London, who has 62,000 followers on Instagram. A social media reel involves him performing at a ski resort. The caption says “giving them a show on the snow. Come with me to Tomorrowlad [sic] winter”. It is followed by the hashtag #youvegotvelo. The content has since been taken down by Instagram. D’vey has been approached for a comment.

Another video from the DJ includes the caption, “Fit check for the @velo.unitedkingdom party! Slay today, Before tomorrow”.

Billie-Jean Blackett, a model and radio presenter, who has appeared in season five of the Netflix reality show The Circle, also promotes the product. She posted: “Unlimited vibes for the @velo.unitedkingdom pre party before Tomorrow!”

The content has since been taken down by Instagram. Blackett has been approached for comment.

Velo originates in Scandinavia but is owned by British American Tobacco. On its website it says it appeals to a broader audience thanks to an “attractive price positioning” relative to traditional oral tobacco.

Hazel Cheeseman, deputy chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health, said: “The government’s approach to regulating nicotine-containing products is not keeping pace with industry innovation. Vaping products with wide appeal to children are highly visible up and down every high street as well as online, nicotine pouches have no age of sale and no restrictions on their advertising or promotion. These products are less harmful than smoking, but they still contain an addictive substance, nicotine, and should be appropriately regulated. The government must move with the times.”

A BAT spokesperson said: “We are clear that our tobacco and nicotine products are for adults only and should never be used by those underage.

“BAT’s approach to brand partnerships goes beyond the Advertising Standards Authority’s own threshold on advertising age-restricted products, which requires companies to only work with individuals with an adult audience of at least 75%.

“When assessing who to engage for our brand partnerships, we require any individuals we work with to be above the age of 25, and BAT conducts due diligence to ensure that the significant majority of an individual’s followers are above the age of 18.”