How Tobacco Companies Are Using Gaming, Metaverse And NFTs To Target Young Smokers

Tobacco and alcohol companies are finding new ways to reach young audiences through the metaverse, bypassing traditional regulations, according to The Guardian. A report presented at the World Conference on Tobacco Control in Dublin revealed how virtual spaces are becoming a fresh marketing battleground.

The findings show that tobacco companies are using digital tokens, while vape brands are sponsoring online games to subtly promote smoking and vaping habits among younger users, as per the news portal.

The research comes from Canary, a global monitoring project by public health group Vital Strategies. Named after the "canary in a coal mine," the project aims to alert the world to emerging public health risks.

Health campaigners say these virtual promotions pose a serious threat as they operate in largely unregulated environments, making it easier for companies to influence impressionable audiences. Experts warn that without stronger oversight, the metaverse could become a powerful tool to normalise smoking and vaping for a new generation.

"Tobacco companies are no longer waiting for regulations to catch them up. They are way ahead of us. We are still trying to understand what we're seeing in social media, but they're already operating in unregulated spaces like the metaverse," Dr Melina Magsumbol, of Vital Strategies India told The Guardian. "They're using NFTs [non-fungible tokens]. They're using immersive events to get our kids to come and see what they're offering."

In India, one tobacco company made and promoted an NFT, which represents ownership of digital assets, to celebrate its 93rd anniversary.

Canary scans for and analyses tobacco marketing on social media platforms and news sites in India, Indonesia and Mexico. It is expanding to more countries, including Brazil and China, and to cover alcohol and ultra-processed food marketing.

In an another interviews Melina Samar Magsumbol told SciDev.Net: "Social media is where the youth are - and that's exactly where the tobacco industry is going.

"Instagram, TikTok, YouTube - these platforms are being used to glamorise tobacco through indirect marketing, often slipping through policy loopholes undetected."

Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death, killing 8 million people every year, according to the World Health Organization's 2025 report on the global tobacco epidemic, released Monday (23 June), with poorer countries bearing the highest burden.