Marijuana promotions on social media: adolescents’ views on prevention strategies

Moreno, Megan A.; Gower, Aubrey D.; Jenkins, Marina C; Kerr, Bradley; Gritton, Jesse

doi:10.1186/s13011-018-0152-7

Cited by 11 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 22 publications

(19 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Age-gating would block access to indoor tanning social media pages for youth under age 18. The age-gating approach is currently used by alcohol companies on social media, and youth are supportive of applying this restriction to other businesses on social media [ 30 ]. Additional strategies may include creating regulations about health misinformation directed at indoor tanning businesses, similar to strategies used to limit health misinformation about tobacco and marijuana.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tanning Misinformation Posted by Businesses on Social Media and Related Perceptions of Adolescent and Young Adult White Non-Hispanic Women: Mixed Methods Study

Moreno¹,

Jenkins²,

Lazovich³

2021

JMIR Dermatol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Indoor ultraviolet (UV) tanning is common and consequential, increasing the risk for cancers including melanoma and basal cell carcinoma. At-risk groups include adolescents and young adults, who often report beliefs about benefits of tanning. Adolescent and young adults are also among the most ubiquitous social media users. As previous studies support that content about tanning is common on social media, this may be a way that young women are exposed to influential content promoting tanning, including health misinformation. Objective The purpose of this study was to evaluate health misinformation promoted by indoor tanning businesses via social media and to understand young women’s perceptions of this misinformation. Methods This mixed methods study included (1) retrospective observational content analysis of indoor tanning salons’ content on Facebook over 1 year and (2) qualitative interviews with a purposeful national sample of 46 White non-Hispanic women, age 16 to 23 years, who had recently tanned indoors. We assessed experiences with tanning businesses’ posted content on social media through interviews. We used the constant comparative approach for qualitative analyses. Results Content analysis findings included data from indoor tanning businesses (n=147) across 50 states, yielding 4956 total posts. Among 9 health misinformation topics identified, the most common was the promotion of UV tanning as a safe way to get Vitamin D (n=73, 1.5%). An example post was “Stop by Body and Sol to get your daily dose of Vitamin D.” Another misinformation topic was promoting tanning for health benefits (n=31, 0.62%), an example post was “the flu is not a season, it’s an inability to adapt due to decreased sun exposure…” A total of 46 participants completed interviews (age: mean 20 years, SD 2). Almost all participants (45/46, 98%) used Facebook, and 43.5% (20/46) followed an indoor tanning business on social media. Approximately half of participants reported seeing social media posts from tanning salons about Vitamin D, an example of a participant comment was “I have [seen that] a few times...” Among the participants, approximately half believed it was safe to get Vitamin D from indoor UV tanning; a participant stated: “I think it is a valid benefit to UV tanning.” Conclusions Despite the low frequency (range 0.5%-1.5%) of social media posts promoting health misinformation, participants commonly reported viewing these posts, and their perceptions aligned with health misinformation. Health education campaigns, possibly using social media to target at-risk populations, may be an innovative approach for tanning prevention messages.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tanning Misinformation Posted by Businesses on Social Media and Related Perceptions of Adolescent and Young Adult White Non-Hispanic Women: Mixed Methods Study

Moreno¹,

Jenkins²,

Lazovich³

2021

JMIR Dermatol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Thus, adolescents may access and potentially engage with cannabis companies via profiles established by these businesses. [15] Relatively little is known about the relationship between adolescents' exposure to cannabis marketing and cannabis use, but decades of research on alcohol and tobacco-other legal substances with abuse potential-show strong correlations between youth exposure to marketing and both earlier initiation and higher consumption among those already using [16,17]. This suggests that exposure to cannabis marketing could have a similar relationship with cannabis use behaviors.…”

Section: Implications and Contributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exposure to Cannabis Marketing in Social and Traditional Media and Past-Year Use Among Adolescents in States With Legal Retail Cannabis

Whitehill

Trangenstein

Jenkins

et al. 2020

Journal of Adolescent Health

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose.-To examine adolescents' self-reported exposure to cannabis marketing in states with legalized cannabis and its association with past-year cannabis use.Methods.-We conducted a cross-sectional, online panel survey of 469 adolescents age 15-19 years residing in four states with legal retail cannabis for adult use. Adolescents self-reported exposure to cannabis marketing on social or traditional media (i.e. outdoor or print) and past-year cannabis use. Logistic regression generated estimated odds of youths' past-year cannabis use by marketing exposure after adjusting for demographic factors and cannabis-related social norms.Results.-Exposure to cannabis marketing on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram was associated with increased odds of past-year cannabis use of 96% (95% CI: 15%−234%), 88% (95% CI: 11% −219%), and 129% (95% CI: 32%−287%), respectively. Odds of past-year cannabis use increased by 48% (95% CI:16%−87%) with each additional social media platform where adolescents reported exposure.Conclusion.-Despite restrictions that prohibit cannabis advertising on social media, adolescents are exposed to cannabis marketing via social media, and this exposure is associated with recent cannabis use. States should consider further regulation of cannabis marketing on social media.

show abstract

“…However, this standard is criticized by policymakers and researchers [ 20 ], as those ages 12–20 comprise ~ 15% of the US population [ 21 ], and thus could overrepresent audiences of outlets where < 30% are < 21 years old. Moreover, the alcohol literature suggests that such policies are ineffective at shielding youth from viewing or interacting with alcohol-related content [ 21 , 22 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of social media platform policies that address cannabis promotion, marketing and sales

Berg

LoParco

Cui

et al. 2023

Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Cannabis marketing exposure via social media may impact use in youth and young adults. Most states with recreational cannabis lack policies regarding social media-based marketing. Thus, we examined such policies among prominent platforms, particularly those popular among youth and young adults. Methods In September-October 2022, 3 research team members extracted policies applying to the general community, advertising, and any specific content regarding drug-related content for 11 social media sites: Discord, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Reddit, Snapchat, TikTok, Tumblr, Twitch, Twitter, and YouTube. Using inductive thematic analysis, they then dual-coded restrictions on cannabis-related content (e.g., paid advertising, unpaid promotion, sales). Descriptive analyses were conducted. Results Ten (all except TikTok) referenced cannabis/marijuana, 7 (all except Discord, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube) distinguished different cannabis-derived products, and 5 (Reddit, Snapchat, TikTok, Tumblr, Twitter) noted jurisdictional differences in cannabis regulations/legality. All prohibited sales, 9 (all except Snapchat and Tumblr) prohibited paid advertising, and 4 (Discord, Reddit, Snapchat, TikTok) prohibited unpaid promotion (e.g., user-generated content). All restricted underage access to cannabis-related content. However, policies varied and were ambiguous regarding how “promotion” was defined, whether/how jurisdictional differences in legality were addressed, how businesses may interact on social media, barriers implemented to inhibit the facilitation of sales, and enforcement protocols. Conclusions Social media policies regarding cannabis marketing are ambiguous and may facilitate cannabis marketing, promotion, sales, and underage exposure, thus compounding concerns regarding insufficient governmental regulations. Greater specificity in social media cannabis-related policies and enforcement is needed.

show abstract

Marijuana promotions on social media: adolescents’ views on prevention strategies

Cited by 11 publications

References 22 publications

Tanning Misinformation Posted by Businesses on Social Media and Related Perceptions of Adolescent and Young Adult White Non-Hispanic Women: Mixed Methods Study

Tanning Misinformation Posted by Businesses on Social Media and Related Perceptions of Adolescent and Young Adult White Non-Hispanic Women: Mixed Methods Study

Exposure to Cannabis Marketing in Social and Traditional Media and Past-Year Use Among Adolescents in States With Legal Retail Cannabis

A review of social media platform policies that address cannabis promotion, marketing and sales

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About