AI bots flooded UK vape ban consultation in failed bid to derail policy

Summarised from 5 outlets · Updated 28 Oct, 00:32 · Archive

More than three-quarters of responses to a 2023 government consultation on banning disposable vapes were machine-generated bots attempting to oppose the legislation.

A study published in the journal Tobacco Control has found that artificial intelligence bots flooded a UK government consultation in a coordinated attempt to derail legislation banning disposable vapes. Researchers from the University of Edinburgh and University of Bath analysed 118,756 responses submitted to the consultation held in October 2023 for the Tobacco and Vapes Bill.

The Department of Health and Social Care used bot-detection methods to identify that 90,835 responses, representing 76 per cent of all submissions, were machine-generated. All but two of these automated responses opposed the government's plans to restrict the sale of disposable vapes. The submissions were "often duplicated many times and sent at high frequency from a small number of IP addresses", according to the DHSC. Researchers said this appears to be the first documented instance of large-scale automated interference in a formal public health policy consultation.

The bot-generated responses consisted solely of multiple-choice selections, with virtually all targeting a single question on proposed restrictions on disposable vape sales. The same number reported they had learned of the consultation through social media. The coordinated nature and directional consistency of the bot responses suggest a deliberate campaign, though researchers Dr Nason Maani and Prof Anna Gilmore said the aim of the bots is "not known". The Mirror reports that "transnational tobacco companies have sought to swamp earlier public consultations with favourable responses, using mass recruitment campaigns and postcard submissions", though it is "not possible to ascertain the commercial origins" of this campaign.

The DHSC excluded all 90,835 automated responses from its decision-making process. Once the fraudulent submissions were removed, 79.6 per cent of valid respondents supported the proposed restrictions on disposable vape sales, a stark contrast to what the unfiltered dataset would have suggested. Dr Maani warned that "future campaigns become harder to catch, and what we can't catch, we don't know about. Such campaigns are a threat because they raise the possibility of a handful of powerful interests looking like a mass movement."

The Tobacco and Vapes Act gained Royal Assent in April 2024. The legislation includes a ban on selling tobacco products to anyone born on or after January 1 2009, which takes effect in January 2025. A separate ban on disposable vapes came into force in June 2025, and the Act also provides powers to restrict the flavours, packaging and marketing of e-cigarettes. Researchers have warned that bolstering detection capacity and safeguards "will be essential" as "bot sophistication increases".

How it is being reported

• AI robots 'hijacked Government consultation on laws to curb vape sales'Researchers said AI robots accounted for more than three quarters of responses to a Government consultation on plans to restrict the sale of disposable vapesThe Mirror · 28 Oct, 00:12
• Huge swarm of AI bots flooded vape ban consultation to influence outcome, study findsExperts said it is thought to be the first time AI has been used to coordinate an attempt to interfere a major health policy in the UKThe Independent · 28 Oct, 00:11
• New study reveals 75% of respondents to Government's smoking and vaping laws consultation were botsThree out of every four responses to a Government consultation on smoking and vaping laws were submitted by bots, a new study has revealed. More than 90,000 bogus submissions opposed plans to restrict disposable vapes, creating a misleading impression of public opinion. But after Government officials identified and excluded the fraudulent responses, almost eight in ten valid respondents backed restrictions. Researchers believe it is the first documented case of large-scale automated interference in a formal public health consultation. TRENDING Stories Videos Your Say The Tobacco and Vapes…GB News · 27 Oct, 23:31
• Majority of responses to consultation on smoking Bill ‘generated by AI bots’The responses were ‘overwhelmingly targeted’ at opposing plans to restrict the sale of disposable vapes.Evening Standard · 27 Oct, 23:30
• AI bots flooded 2023 UK government consultation on disposable vapes banThree-quarters of all responses were machine-generated in failed attempt to stop bill from passing into law, research finds AI bots flooded a government consultation with tens of thousands of fake responses in a failed attempt to stop the UK’s ban on disposable vapes. Three-quarters of all the responses to the 2023 consultation on the tobacco and vapes bill were machine-generated, in what is thought to be the first coordinated attempt to use AI to derail health policymaking in the UK. Continue reading...The Guardian · 27 Oct, 22:30

In this story: Department of Health and Social Care · University of Edinburgh · University of Bath · Dr Nason Maani · Prof Anna Gilmore · Rishi Sunak · United Kingdom

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