The UK public consultation in 2023 on measures to create a “smoke-free generation” and restrict disposable vape sales receives an overwhelming number of responses generated by AI bots, according to an analysis reported by multiple outlets. The reporting says most submissions were not genuine public input and were aimed at influencing the outcome of the bill.
Evening Standard and Belfast Telegraph both frame the issue around the consultation responses being “overwhelmingly targeted” against restricting disposable vapes. The Guardian describes the effort as a coordinated attempt to derail health policymaking and reports that research finds about three-quarters of responses were machine-generated. Phys.org similarly cites a study in the journal Tobacco Control based on publicly available data and freedom of information requests, concluding that three out of four responses were AI-generated.
Across sources, the shared focus is the scale of AI bot activity and its apparent link to opposition to the disposable vape restrictions, with outlet emphasis varying between “targeting” and “derailing” health policy.
