Stephanie Chan, a spokesperson for Instagram parent company Meta, said the ads were pulled because the company doesn't allow "content that promotes misleading health claims" or attempts "to generate negative self-perception in order to promote health-related products. We remove ads that break these rules."
Arguably, public service ads which depict the negative consequences of drinking and smoking are "generating negative self-perception" in their intended audience. In fact, that is precisely the point.
That said - the distinction here coming in using "negative self-perception" to promote products (as opposed to advising them to seek help from a professional - who can actually advise them as to whether these products are in fact helpful or worth the money).
So that's why I don't think the (implicit) "wrongthink" analogy applies, and no, this isn't the slippery slope to a full-blown totalitarian apparatus (as is the undercurrent of most Reason articles).