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TikTok has banned the account of an Australian influencer for promoting flavored nicotine pouches in his viral videos. The move comes after Guardian Australia revealed in early February that the bodybuilder Stefan Kohut was promoting the controversial products on the platform.
As The Guardian reports, a TikTok spokesperson has confirmed that Kohut’s account violated the company’s community guidelines, which prohibit “content that depicts or promotes the sale or trade of tobacco, including novel nicotine products.” The guidelines also forbid advertising vaping products on TikTok.
The platform states it actively taking down content breaching these rules, taking down over 741,000 videos in Australia in the most recent quarter alone, with about 95% proactively removed before being reported.
Kohut has since started a new TikTok account, vowing in a February 12 video to “build back the community.” However, he has not posted any new videos promoting nicotine products on this account.
Nicotine pouches are sachets containing nicotine extracted from tobacco or synthetic sources, meant to be tucked under the lip. While oral tobacco products like snus are legal in some countries, they have been banned in Australia since 1991.
The pouches are promoted as tobacco-free but require a prescription to be legally supplied in Australia. After Guardian Australia’s February report, the country’s drug regulator updated guidance warning it is “unlawful to advertise nicotine pouches” in Australia.
Despite TikTok’s move against Kohut, Guardian Australia has identified other individual accounts positively portraying the banned products, which remain legal as long as they are not offered for sale.
One fitness influencer recently posted a video taking “the heaviest snus you can get in Melbourne,” viewed over 70,000 times. Another removed 39 videos about using nicotine pouches for vaping cessation after inquiries from the Guardian, saying “We are in a changing regulatory landscape.”
Several Australian businesses selling nicotine pouches continue to have website links on their TikTok pages, though the platform removed one vendor’s account after being contacted by the Guardian.
Tobacco control experts argue stronger laws and enforcement are needed against such promotion, especially when targeting youth. Professor Becky Freeman of the University of Sydney says “Allowing these platforms to self-police has failed. And then, governments need to actually enforce these laws.”
Dr. James Kite of the University of Sydney notes young people are often exposed to unrecognized product promotion from influencers. “It’s very common for young people to be exposed to products on social media that were harmful to their health whether that’s nicotine pouches or gambling or alcohol,” he states.
Researchers like Marian-Andrei Rizoiu of the University of Technology Sydney believe regulation of influencer marketing relationships remains a major challenge, as “controls were looser for organic content from user accounts.”
While TikTok has taken action on high-profile violations, critics argue social platforms’ policies continually lag in curbing potentially harmful product promotion to youth as it’s “not in their interests to close down or crack down on advertising.”
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Courtesy : https://www.netinfluencer.com/tiktok-stefan-kohut-nicotine-ban/