Guide to the Supplementary Rules Respecting Nicotine Replacement Therapies Order: Advertising
On this page
- Overview
- Smoking cessation
- Appealing to young persons
- Flavour names
- Statements
- Warnings
- Audio advertising
- Visual advertising
Overview
Advertising and promotional activities can help bring awareness to adults considering their smoking cessation options; however, they can also influence a young person's desire to access and use certain NRTs.
This section provides an overview of the advertising restrictions outlined in the Order. Refer to the Guidance on advertising nicotine replacement therapies for more information.
Smoking cessation
You must not advertise or promote an NRT for a use other than smoking cessation.
Appealing to young persons
You must not advertise or promote an NRT if there are reasonable grounds to believe that the advertisement or promotion could be appealing to young people.
For more information on what could be appealing to young people, refer to the Labelling section.
Flavour names
Your NRT advertisement must display a flavour name that:
- Is not misleading regarding the required flavour
- Does not contain any descriptive or qualifying words
- Reasonably conveys the flavour
For more information on the flavour name restrictions, refer to the Labelling section.
Statements
Any advertisement for an NRT must contain a statement indicating the product's smoking cessation objective.
English advertisements
If your advertisement is in English, it must contain at least one of the following statements:
"This product is intended for smoking cessation only. Do not use if you are under 18 years of age."
OR
"Only to be used by adults who are trying to quit smoking."
French advertisements
If your advertisement is in French, it must contain at least one of the following statements:
« Ce produit est uniquement destiné à vous aider à cesser de fumer. Ne pas utiliser si vous avez moins de 18 ans. »
OR
« À utiliser uniquement par des adultes qui désirent cesser de fumer. »
Bilingual advertisements
If your advertisement is in both official languages, it must contain:
"This product is intended for smoking cessation only. Do not use if you are under 18 years of age."
AND
« Ce produit est uniquement destiné à vous aider à cesser de fumer. Ne pas utiliser si vous avez moins de 18 ans. »
OR
"Only to be used by adults who are trying to quit smoking."
AND
« À utiliser uniquement par des adultes qui désirent cesser de fumer. »
Advertisements in a language other than English or French
If your advertisement is in a language other than English or French, or does not contain any text, it must contain one of the following statements:
"This product is intended for smoking cessation only. Do not use if you are under 18 years of age."
OR
"Only to be used by adults who are trying to quit smoking."
OR
« Ce produit est uniquement destiné à vous aider à cesser de fumer. Ne pas utiliser si vous avez moins de 18 ans. »
OR
« À utiliser uniquement par des adultes qui désirent cesser de fumer. »
Warnings
Any advertisement for an NRT must contain a warning regarding nicotine.
English advertisements
If your advertisement is in English, it must contain the warning "WARNING: This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is highly addictive."
French advertisements
If your advertisement is in French, it must contain the warning "AVERTISSEMENT : Ce produit contient de la nicotine. La nicotine crée une forte dépendance."
Bilingual advertisements
If the advertisement is in both official languages, each warning included above in the English and French advertisement sections, respectively, is required.
Advertisements in a language other than English or French
If your advertisement is in a language other than English or French, or does not contain any text, it must contain one of the following statements:
"WARNING: This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is highly addictive."
OR
"AVERTISSEMENT : Ce produit contient de la nicotine. La nicotine crée une forte dépendance."
Audio advertising
Your audio advertisement for an NRT must communicate the Statements and Warnings mentioned in the above sections in their entirety, at the same speed, volume and tone as the main message, without emphasizing any word more than any other.
The Statements and Warnings must also be communicated without any music or background sound.
This is also required for advertisements with both audio and visual components.
Visual advertising
Your visual advertisement for an NRT must display the Statements and Warnings mentioned in the sections above clearly and prominently. They must also be readily visible to a purchaser or consumer.
This is also required for advertisements with both audio and visual components.