Adolescents’ interpretations of e-cigarette advertising and their engagement with e-cigarette information: results from five focus groups

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study is to explore adolescent non-ecigarette users' interpretations of e-cigarette advertising and their engagement with e-cigarette information. Given adolescents' lack of persuasion knowledge and the association between advertising and behaviour, insights from non-users who are heavily targeted by the industry add evidence to a field that mainly focuses on risk perceptions and reasons for experimentation. Design: Five focus groups were conducted with 39 adolescents (mean = 14.21 years, age range 12-17, 80% female). Data were analysed using the thematic approach. Results: Three themes were emerged: (1) advertising motivates nonsmokers to use e-cigarettes, (2) there is fascination with the technical and emotional appeals featured in commercials and (3) searching for information about e-cigarettes involves little validation. Adolescents also recalled health and social appeals that are consistent with content analysis of e-cigarette advertising. Further, adolescents used digital platforms and interpersonal sources for information on e-juice ingredients, health effects, accessibility, and price to satisfy their curiosity and justify their use. Very few, however, questioned the trustworthiness of the information. Conclusion: Findings provide support for the implementation of strategies, such as media literacy in public health and media campaigns, and the development of regulations vis-'a-vis advertising and access to e-cigarette products to reduce future uptake.

Tactics for Drawing Youth to Vaping: Content Analysis of Electronic Cigarette Advertisements

“…The most highly cited reasons were most prominent in the ads, including a focus on relational aspects of vaping and product-related benefits, such as a positive sensory experience. Similar to the findings of the present study, a recently published focus group study that analyzed e-cigarette advertisements with 39 non-vaping adolescents found that the perceived social benefits, like increased friendships, and product-related appeals, like the innovative design and variety of flavors, presented in the advertisements were major draws to trying e-cigarettes [ 37 ]. The present study builds on these findings even further and adds to a growing evidence base that adolescents are indeed the target market for e-cigarette advertisers, despite claims that this is not the case.…”

“…Adolescence is a period of psychosocial development where it is more likely that an individual will engage in sensation seeking than at other developmental stage [ 63 ]. Other researchers confirm that e-cigarette advertisements capitalize on this sensation-seeking behavior by emphasizing pleasurable sensations, such as flavors or odor produced by the e-juice [ 37 , 64 - 66 ]. The advertisements reinforce the belief that e-cigarettes will satisfy the sensation-seeking needs of youth by highlighting the sensory experience that comes with e-cigarette use in their animations, graphics, and music.…”

Electronic cigarette and cannabis use: results from the 2018 Maryland Youth Risk Behavior Survey

“…Despite the high likelihood for nicotine dependence following e-cigarette use, youth are unlikely to view use as risky (Amrock et al 2016 ; Chen et al 2020 ). It remains critical to prevent adolescent use of e-cigarettes.…”

Countering the “Harmless E-Cigarette” Myth: The Interplay of Message Format, Message Sidedness, and Prior Experience With E-Cigarette Use in Misinformation Correction

“…Content analyses have determined that the widespread misinformation related to e-cigarettes on the internet, largely sponsored by marketers (Collins et al, 2019), often advertises e-cigarettes as a “reduced risk cigarette” and as a smoking cessation aid (Chen et al, 2020). Such misinformation promotes the image that e-cigarettes are healthier, more socially acceptable, and more environmentally friendly.…”

“…Such misinformation promotes the image that e-cigarettes are healthier, more socially acceptable, and more environmentally friendly. It has perpetuated the misperceptions that e-cigarettes are risk free, not addictive, do not contain toxic chemicals, and can help people quit smoking (Chen et al, 2020; Collins et al, 2019). The misleading information has a particularly strong influence on those who have never smoked and young people without much knowledge of persuasion tactics (Chen et al, 2020).…”