Rising Exposure to Vaping Advertising Despite Bans: A Four-Country Study

2023-11-04 09:04:37

According to a study conducted by the George Institute for Global Health and published in the journal Tobacco Induced Diseases[1], 85% of people, particularly adolescents and young adults, in India, China, Australia and the United Kingdom, are exposed to for vaping products. Exposure was most common on social media platforms, at vape shops, supermarkets and gas stations.

Researchers surveyed more than 4,000 people aged 15 to 30 in Australia, China, India and the United Kingdom about their tobacco and e-cigarette use, their friends and family members who vape and on their exposure to for vaping products.

High exposure to despite a ban in force in the four countries

Despite restrictions on vaping products in the four countries studied, a large majority of adolescents and young adults reported being exposed to e-cigarette . Social media and in and around vape shops and other retailers appear to be the main venues for exposure.

Online, exposure to was more common on most social media platforms compared to general internet use (browsing websites of any type). For example, 50% of Chinese and 39% of Australians, Indians and Brits respectively said they had seen e-cigarette advertisements on Douyin[2] and Instagram, compared to 29% on websites. Regarding point-of-sale , exposure was most common in vaping stores (48%) and supermarkets/neighborhood stores/gas stations (42%).

Social media algorithms highlight vaping ads among consumers

Overall, those who had never used vaping products were significantly less likely to have been exposed to vaping product than current vaping product users, particularly on social media. .

According to the study’s lead author, Simone Pettigrew, it is possible that e-cigarette users are more receptive to than non-users, or that social media algorithms target vapers to serve the ads, resulting in increased exposure among current users. She added that “ pour with each additional exposure to a vaping advertisement in a new location or medium, whether in a physical location or on a social media platform, the likelihood of using e-cigarettes increased ».

The difficulty of monitoring digital media

As part of an overall strategy to reduce the uptake of vaping among minors and non-smokers, the World Health Organization recommends banning all forms of , promotion and sponsorship vaping products. However, more and more studies show that despite the regulatory frameworks in place, young people are regularly exposed to advertisements for new tobacco and nicotine products, particularly on digital platforms. Digital forms of promotion of nicotine products are particularly difficult to monitor and control, and effective legislation would require integrating the cross-border dimension of advertisements.

Keywords: Social networks, vaping, electronic cigarettes, , young people, Framework Convention

©Tobacco Free Generation

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3[1] Pettigrew S, Santos JA, Pinho-Gomes A, Li Y, Jones A. Exposure to e-cigarette and young people’s use of e-cigarettes: A four-country study. Tobacco Induced Diseases. 2023;21(October):141. doi:10.18332/tid/172414.

[2] Chinese version of TikTok

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