Sainsbury’s and Morrisons have been accused of displaying tobacco adverts in-store which goes against Trading Standards advertising laws.

According to the BBC, the supermarkets have both showcased tobacco devices which deliver nicotine by heating rather than burning, on their in-store video screens and posters, going against current advertising laws.

In Morrisons, an advert depicting an iQos product, which uses an electric heater to heat the tobacco, is seen above the cigarettes counter.

The colourful advert shows an image of the product with the message “heated tobacco and 1/3rd of the price of a pack of cigarettes” alongside a price mark.

Sainsbury’s tobacco counter depicts a similar advert for a product called Ploom. The text reads, “Next level heated tobacco. Switch now in store.”

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However, in the UK Tobacco adverts were banned in 2002, with the local trading standards body, The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI), saying the ads are “prohibited”.

Yet, there is some debate over the definition of a tobacco product. The manufacturers of Ploom, Japan Tobacco International (JTI) claim their heated tobacco product does not “smoke”, and therefore should not be classed in the same category as tobacco products under the 2002 law, which prohibits advertising products that can be “smoked, sniffed, sucked or chewed”.

A spokesperson for Sainsbury’s insisted the adverts were “in line with current tobacco legislation”, while Morrisons told the publication: “On that basis, we are comfortable that it is legal for heated tobacco products to be advertised in store.”

Last year, the government confirmed that the sale and supply of disposable vapes will be banned in England and Wales from June next year, a move set to impact retailers and vape brands across the country.