Social media giants TikTok and Meta took money from criminal groups to run advertising for nicotine products, before pulling many of the videos spruiking cigarettes and vapes after questions from this masthead.
At the start of the month, Australia marked 50 years since fully phasing out cigarette advertising on TV and radio, with the prohibition later expanded to include other forms of media. But despite the ban, numerous advertisements seen by this masthead show AI-generated women promoting illegal nicotine products on TikTok, Facebook and Instagram, helping to prop up the estimated $10 billion black market in Australia.
Metaโs various social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Threads, carry hundreds of unique ads selling vapes from a Chinese brand of vapes called Alibarbar, which are imported to the country by international crime gangs, the companyโs own ad library shows.
The ads compound questions over the behaviour of big social media companies in Australia and the scrutiny they apply to the billions of dollars in digital advertising revenue they make each year here, most of which is transferred โ entirely legally โ to lower-tax jurisdictions offshore.
Both companies tell this masthead they have taken action against the accounts advertising tobacco and vape products. However, they failed to explain how the ads were approved to be shown to users, or how much revenue they have taken from displaying the ads.
Both TikTok and Meta platforms show advertisements for Austobac, which claims to be a Sydney-based business spruiking delivery of the Manchester brand of cigarettes produced in the Middle East, as well as Double Happiness, a Chinese brand of cigarettes.
The distinctive packaging, which is in flagrant breach of Australiaโs plain packaging laws, is a clear indicator these types of cigarettes are being sold under the counter, adding to the black market of cigarettes which has undercut the legal market and created a new industry of underworld crime and firebombings.
Health authorities have warned that illegal vapes can contain poisonous substances including formaldehyde and antifreeze, while illegal cigarettes can also include a raft of unsafe substances, as well as the traditional cancer-causing ingredients.
Meta Ads manager shows 460 unique and different ads that have been bought by different vendors selling the specific Alibarbar vape products. At least 93 unique ads for Alibarbar were active as of Wednesday afternoon when this masthead put questions to Meta. There is no way of telling how many users across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and its other platforms have been shown such ads.
A spokesperson for Meta said ads for tobacco and vapes were not allowed. โCriminal groups deliberately try to evade detection, and we continue to invest in our systems and to work with law enforcement and Australian authorities to stay ahead of them,โ the spokesperson said. โWe have reviewed the examples provided and taken action against the accounts and ads that breach our policies.โ
Despite the statement, 86 advertisements for Alibarbar products remained active on Friday afternoon. Asked if Meta would return money for the advertisements that have already run, having become aware they were probably paid for with the proceeds of criminal activity, a spokesperson said, โnoโ.
A spokeswoman for TikTok said all the accounts this masthead identified have been permanently banned.
โWe are constantly working to proactively identify, review, and remove content at scale that violates our policies, using a combination of technology and platform sweeps to do so,โ the spokeswoman said.
She added that 99.8 per cent of videos violating regulated goods and services were taken down before they were reported.
Some estimates suggest between 95 and 98 per cent of vape sales in Australia are illegal. Vapes are only legally sold at pharmacies and cannot contain the enticing flavours common in black market alternatives. The Australian Bureau of Statistics has reported that illicit cigarettes and vapes have risen from 12 per cent of the market in 2017 to 80 per cent in 2025.
The Australian digital advertising market hit an all-time high in 2026. Digital video advertising now accounts for more advertising revenue than television, and TikTok is one of the biggest players in that space. Social video advertising revenue reached $2.4 billion in the 2026 financial year, up almost 30 per cent year-on-year, according to digital advertising trade group IAB Australia.
This masthead has previously reported that tech giants including Meta, Amazon and Google sent more than $14 billion in revenue offshore last year, paying combined income tax of just $212 million in the 2025 calendar year.
TikTok is also one of the biggest platforms on the rise in Australia, writing $883.7 million in revenue in 2025, with most of that figure coming from advertisements.
Traditional media companies, which are subject to much tighter regulations in relation to both content and advertising laws, have suffered sustained revenue declines as a result of advertisers and marketing agencies moving their dollars toward digital platforms like Google, Meta and TikTok.
Meta collected $1.74 billion in gross advertising revenue from a portion of its Australian advertisers, a 19 per cent jump on 2024, but sent $1.51 billion of that to related entities overseas for the right to resell the tech giantโs ad inventory, this masthead previously reported. This figure is not the complete picture, with some advertisers buying from its different digital platforms directly, which are not reflected in the figures.
The government enacted its social media ban for under 16s in December, but many in this age group are still using social media platforms and getting around the new restrictions with ease.
The Australian Federal Police declined to comment.
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Calum Jaspan is a media writer for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, based in Melbourne. Reach him securely on Signal @calumjaspan.10Connect via X or email.From our partners
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