CBS, Viacom, and WarnerMedia All Drop E-Cigarette Advertising
With seven deaths now from a mysterious and dead lung illness related to vaping, CBS, WarnerMedia, and Viacom have said they will no longer run e-cigarette advertising.
The move comes after WarnerMedia’s CNN announced that it would no longer run advertisements for vaping products. CNN had told The Daily Beast it would no longer allow vaping products to advertise on its network and that it would reconsider the policy if research shows vaping products are not harmful.
A spokesman for CBS confirmed to CNBC on Wednesday that they would stop taking future e-cigarette advertising.
“WarnerMedia reserves the right to withdraw advertising from its platforms at its discretion,” spokeswoman Jennifer Toner said in a statement to CNBC. “Given warnings from the CDC, the AMA and the American Lung Association to consumers, our company has revised its policies regarding e-cigarette advertising, and will no longer accept advertising for this category. We will continue to monitor the investigations by relevant medical agencies and may re-evaluate our position as new facts come to light.”
“After reviewing the recent reports regarding the potentially serious health threats posed by e-cigarettes, Viacom has revised its policies regarding e-cigarette advertising, and will no longer air ads in this category effective immediately,” a company spokesperson for the company said Wednesday.
Around 400 people have become sick from the lung illness that is related to vaping, according to state health agencies and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.