Smoking avatars and online games: how big tobacco targets young people in the metaverse

Cigarettes and vapes are being smuggled into virtual spaces beyond the reach of regulation, creating a new battleground for health campaigners

In the image, a group of friends is standing in a bar, smoke winding upwards from the cigarettes in their hands. More lie in an open packet on the table between them. This is not a photograph taken before smoking bans, but a picture shared on social media of a gathering in the metaverse.

Virtual online spaces are becoming a new marketing battleground as tobacco and alcohol promoters target young people without any legislative consequences.