NAIROBI — The lobby group is warning that tobacco companies are targeting children and teenagers through immersive virtual platforms by popularizing smoking avatars, branded content, and gamified promotions in the metaverse. The African Tobacco Control Alliance (ATCA) is urging governments and digital platform developers to close what it calls a dangerous regulatory gap. The group is calling for immediate restrictions on tobacco promotion in online environments frequented by young users.
“This is not innovation; it is manipulation,” said ATCA’s Interim Executive Secretary Kouami Kossiwa in a statement released Friday. “The tobacco industry’s encroachment into the metaverse is a calculated move to reshape social norms and recruit a new generation of users through digital seduction.”
ATCA says the growing presence of tobacco-linked imagery and promotional content in virtual spaces threatens to undo decades of progress in public health. The group cited recent examples of digital tokens linked to smoking culture, brand placements in online games, and virtual influencers promoting vaping products in social spaces with minimal oversight.
A report presented last month at the World Conference on Tobacco Control in Dublin revealed new strategies deployed by tobacco and e-cigarette companies. These include partnerships with virtual reality platforms and sponsorships of popular gaming tournaments aimed at underage audiences.
Kossiwa stressed that with 70% of Africa’s population under the age of 30, and internet use expanding quickly, the digital environment has become a critical front in the fight against tobacco addiction. “Young people are an important base of the digital space. As they become more active in gaming, immersive platforms, and social media, the industry is adapting its playbook to reach them in new ways,” she said.
ATCA is pushing for a coordinated response that includes clear content guidelines, mandatory age-verification tools, and stricter moderation of virtual content that promotes or normalizes smoking and vaping. The group also wants global oversight mechanisms to track and report tobacco marketing activities across digital platforms.
“The metaverse must not become a loophole in global health protection,” the group said in its statement. “We cannot afford to wait for the law to catch up. We must lead the regulatory process.”
Kossiwa also underscored the need for stronger digital literacy efforts targeting families. “We must empower youth and their parents to recognize and resist harmful influence online,” she said, pointing to a lack of critical awareness around targeted advertising and behavioral manipulation in immersive environments.
As digital innovation races ahead, ATCA warns that unregulated marketing threatens to erode global tobacco control gains especially in low- and middle-income countries where legal frameworks remain weak and enforcement inconsistent. The alliance says governments must act now to prevent what it calls a “silent infiltration” of tobacco marketing in digital childhoods.
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