Big tobacco returns to British TV with BAT e-cig advert

British American Tobacco will become the biggest tobacco company to show a television advert for e-cigarettes in Britain on Monday but will leave out any reference to ‘smokers’ to comply with laws which ban the promotion of tobacco products. Soaring sales of e-cigarettes, metal tubes with batteries which heat nicotine-laced liquids into a vapor, have caught the eye of some of the world’s biggest tobacco companies including BAT, Altria Group and Imperial Tobacco. A consultation into the rules governing e-cigarette advertising is due to be launched shortly by UK regulators governing print, online and broadcast advertising but BAT said the current rules left e-cigarette advertising unclear. E-cigarettes are seen as less harmful than regular cigarettes and a useful way to wean smokers off their habits but critics say they can act as a gateway to nicotine addiction and that more research is needed on the health implications.