Introduction:
The tobacco industry’s (TI) response to the global decline in tobacco consumption is the introduction of innovative products ¹. Although advertising and promotion of tobacco in Poland is prohibited, tobacco companies use legal loopholes to advertise their products. In order to reach young adults, TI marketing focuses on entertainment and social venues such as nightclubs ². This area of tobacco marketing has not been thoroughly researched in Poland.

Main objective:
To investigate the prevalence and characteristics of the advertising and promotion of tobacco products in nightclubs in Gdansk, a large Polish city in northern Poland.

Material and Methods:
We conducted systematic observation of nightclubs in Gdansk, which were open between July and October 2022. Two independent observers visited 30 venues and collected information using prepared form. The presence of branded bar accessories, signs with logos and other forms of advertising and promotion were checked. Where possible, pictures of visible images of tobacco marketing were photographed.

Results:
It was observed that 70% of the nightclubs visited, sell tobacco products. Advertising of any types of tobacco products was present in 66.7% of establishments. Age was verified in ⅓ of the nightclubs, and half of the premises offered free admission. The most commonly sold and advertised among all tobacco products were HTP’s (heated tobacco products). Modern forms of marketing were observed, such as multimedia animations and large points of sale.

Conclusions:
The sale and advertising of tobacco products occurred in the majority of the nightclubs. The TI is dynamically developing and expanding its marketing with new promotional activities and products. Tobacco advertising in social venues needs to be banned to effectively protect high-risk individuals from smoking initiation and relapse.