Bots sent three in four responses to the disposable vape ban consultation, study finds
The Department of Health spotted and removed 90,835 automated replies to its 2023 smoking and vaping consultation, research published in the journal Tobacco Control shows.
More than 90,000 of the replies to a government consultation on banning disposable vapes were sent by automated software rather than by members of the public, according to research published on Tuesday.
The consultation, run by the Department of Health and Social Care in 2023, asked for views on its smoke-free generation plans and on new limits for vapes. It received 118,756 responses. Using bot-detection checks, the department identified 90,835 of them, 76%, as automated.
All but two of the automated replies answered the same question, opposing the proposed ban on disposable vapes. The department found they had often been duplicated many times and sent in rapid bursts from a small number of internet addresses.
The research was carried out by Dr Nason Maani of the University of Edinburgh and Professor Anna Gilmore of the University of Bath, and appears in the peer-reviewed journal Tobacco Control. The authors said it seems to be the first recorded case of large-scale automated interference in a formal public health consultation. They were not able to establish who was behind it.
What happened to the fake replies
The department removed all 90,835 automated responses before weighing up the results, so they played no part in its decision. The government went ahead with the ban on businesses selling or supplying disposable vapes, which was carried through after Labour took office in 2024.
The Department of Health said its controls had worked as intended and that it would stay alert to similar attempts in future consultations.
The researchers warned that later campaigns could be harder to detect. Demos, a think tank that studies online information, said any measure that keeps bots out of a consultation can also make it harder for real people to take part. The charity Action on Smoking and Health called the findings deeply concerning and said health decisions should rest on evidence and expertise rather than on the number of responses received.
NHS guidance says nicotine vaping is less harmful than smoking and is one of the most effective ways to quit, but that it is not risk-free, its long-term effects are not yet known, and children and non-smokers should not vape.
