Online sales compliance with the electronic cigarettes ban in India: a content analysis

Amalia, Beladenta; Kapoor, Shivam; Sharma, Renu; Fu, Marcela; Fernández, Esteve; Rana, Jugdeep Singh

doi:10.1007/s00038-020-01480-6

Cited by 12 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…In India, where e-cigarettes are strictly banned, viewers were encouraged to reach out to retailers more covertly using provided telephone numbers, often via WhatsApp. We did not observe accounts linking to websites, despite evidence that shows that online e-cigarette retailers were still prevalent after the e-cigarette ban ( 58 ). In Mexico, accounts often provided links to online stores, along with other contact methods, like emails and telephone numbers, and locations of physical stores.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 71%

A content analysis of e-cigarette marketing on social media: Findings from the Tobacco Enforcement and Reporting Movement (TERM) in India, Indonesia and Mexico

Murukutla

Magsumbol

Raskin

et al. 2022

Front. Public Health

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BackgroundThe use of e-cigarettes is proliferating globally, especially among youth and even children. Marketing is a known risk factor for e-cigarette initiation, yet little is known of e-cigarette marketing on social media in low- and middle-income countries. This study compares e-cigarette social media marketing in India, Indonesia, and Mexico, three such countries with different regulatory environments.MethodsInstances of e-cigarette marketing on social media platforms were identified via the Tobacco Enforcement and Reporting Movement (TERM), a digital tobacco marketing monitoring system. Through systematic keyword-based searches, all tobacco marketing posts observed between 15 December 2021 and 16 March 2022 were included in the analysis. The final sample included 1,437 e-cigarette-related posts on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok, which were systematically content analyzed by independent coders after inter-reliability (Cohen's Kappa K > 0.79) was established using a theory-derived codebook. The final data is represented in percentages and frequencies for ease of presentation.ResultsWe observed e-cigarette marketing online in all countries studied, yet there was variation in the volume of marketing and types of accounts identified. In India, where e-cigarettes were comprehensively banned, we identified 90 (6%) posts; in Mexico, where e-cigarettes were partially restricted, 318 (22%) posts were observed; and in Indonesia, where there were no restrictions, 1,029 (72%) posts were observed. In both India and Mexico, marketing originated from retailer accounts (100%), whereas in Indonesia, it was primarily product brand accounts (86%). Across countries, e-cigarettes were mostly marketed directly to sell products (India: 99%, Indonesia: 69% and Mexico: 93%), though the sales channels varied. Product features, including e-liquid flavors, device colors and technical specifications, was the most prominent message framing (India: 86%; Mexico: 73%; Indonesia: 58%). Harm reduction messaging was most popular in Mexico (8%) and was not common in Indonesia (0.3%) or India (0%).ConclusionOur study provides important insights for tobacco control stakeholders on the evolving nature of e-cigarette marketing in low- and middle-income countries. It underscores the presence of e-cigarette marketing, including in countries where comprehensive regulations exist, and suggests the importance of continuous monitoring to keep up with industry practices and strengthen tobacco control stakeholder efforts to counter them.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 71%

A content analysis of e-cigarette marketing on social media: Findings from the Tobacco Enforcement and Reporting Movement (TERM) in India, Indonesia and Mexico

Murukutla

Magsumbol

Raskin

et al. 2022

Front. Public Health

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“…Of the stores that still sold ENDS following the restriction, 90% were aware the products were banned. A second study in India looked at the availability of ENDS online post-restriction [ 61 ]. They found 45 unique websites, 35.6% of which delivered at least one vaping product to New Delhi.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These findings are consistent with research examining retailers’ compliance with other flavoured tobacco restrictions [ 26 , 66 ]. Compliance studies also suggest additional challenges of regulating the online market, as observed in Massachusetts and India [ 59 – 61 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The actual and anticipated effects of restrictions on flavoured electronic nicotine delivery systems: a scoping review

et al. 2022

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Objective To synthesize the outcomes of policy evaluations of flavoured electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) restrictions. Data sources PubMed, Scopus, Embase and Web of Science before May 3, 2022. Study selection Studies that report sales, behaviour, or compliance outcomes related to implemented or hypothetical ENDS flavour restrictions. Data extraction Restriction details, whether implemented or hypothetical, whether additional products were restricted, jurisdictional level, study locations, and outcomes classified by sales, behaviour, and compliance. Data synthesis We included 30 studies. Of those, 26 were conducted exclusively in the US, two in India, and two surveyed respondents in multiple countries, including the US. Twenty-one evaluated implemented restrictions, while nine considered hypothetical restrictions. Five studies evaluated product sales, 17 evaluated behaviour, and 10 evaluated compliance, with two studies reporting multiple outcomes. Two studies reported an increase and one a reduction in cigarette sales following restrictions, while three reported reductions in ENDS sales. Behavioural studies presented a mixed view of the impacts of regulations on ENDS and cigarette use. However, the use of disparate outcomes limits the comparability of studies. Studies of hypothetical restrictions suggest decreased ENDS use, increased cigarette use, and increased use of illicit markets. Studies of compliance with flavoured product restrictions that included ENDS found that 6–39% of stores sold restricted flavoured products post-restrictions. Online stores remain a potential source of restricted products. Conclusion Our findings highlight the need for additional research on the impacts of ENDS restrictions. Research should further evaluate the impact of restrictions on youth and adult use of nicotine and tobacco products in addition to the effects of restrictions in countries beyond the US to enable a robust consideration of the harm-benefit trade-off of restrictions.

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“…For two countries in the region, the challenge will be trying to maintain the current strong regulation, with Sri Lanka one of the first countries in the world to ban the sales of ENDS in 2016 31 and India imposing a complete ban on ENDS and HTPs in December 2019 through an act of parliament, although industry lobbying and efforts are still vigorously trying to overturn it. 37 Another key challenge over the next decade includes effectively dealing with the transnational tobacco companies' influence over tobacco control policy progress, for cigarettes and also bidis and smokeless tobacco. The smokeless tobacco market in South Asian countries is very large and therefore lucrative for transnational companies, with the Swedish Match Company previously trying to penetrate the Indian market 38 unsuccessfully.…”

Section: Tobacco Control Policy Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Another challenge for many of the countries in the region for the next few years is how to regulate electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) and heated tobacco products (HTPs) and their promotion by transnational tobacco companies. For two countries in the region, the challenge will be trying to maintain the current strong regulation, with Sri Lanka one of the first countries in the world to ban the sales of ENDS in 201631 and India imposing a complete ban on ENDS and HTPs in December 2019 through an act of parliament, although industry lobbying and efforts are still vigorously trying to overturn it 37…”

Section: Tobacco Control Policy Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

South Asia’s evolving tobacco hydra: moving from quandary to hope

Gupta

Puntambekar

Assunta³

2022

Tob Control

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The South Asian region occupies a unique place in global tobacco control because of a broad spectrum of widely used tobacco products and the consequent mix of local and transnational tobacco industries. Cigarette use is especially high among males in many countries, while bidis are widely used in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and are very inexpensive. Smokeless tobacco use is a global problem, but the bulk of use is in South Asia and there is emerging promotion of newly developed tobacco and nicotine products across the region. With the transnational cigarette industry contributing a significant amount in taxes, the bidi industry employing millions of workers and many farmers engaged in tobacco farming, the industry is powerful and exploits this when countering proposed advancements in tobacco control policy. Despite industry interference and major challenges, this region has achieved remarkable successes in tobacco control, including large pictorial warnings that cover up to 80%–90% of the pack in some countries, stringent rules on depiction of tobacco in movies, bans on advertising and promotion, and smoke-free public places. Key challenges include increasing the tax component of retail prices and reducing tax concessions, regulating newly developed products and countering the aggressive tactics of the tobacco industry. Strategies to advance tobacco control in the region may also include standardised packaging of tobacco products, sustained mass media campaigns to warn the population of the harms of tobacco use and promote use of available cost-covered cessation services, and supply-side measures such as vendor licensing.

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Online sales compliance with the electronic cigarettes ban in India: a content analysis

Cited by 12 publications

References 24 publications

A content analysis of e-cigarette marketing on social media: Findings from the Tobacco Enforcement and Reporting Movement (TERM) in India, Indonesia and Mexico

A content analysis of e-cigarette marketing on social media: Findings from the Tobacco Enforcement and Reporting Movement (TERM) in India, Indonesia and Mexico

The actual and anticipated effects of restrictions on flavoured electronic nicotine delivery systems: a scoping review

South Asia’s evolving tobacco hydra: moving from quandary to hope

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