The Impact of E-Cigarette Addiction Warnings and Health-Related Claims on Consumers’ Risk Beliefs and Use Intentions

Abstract

The popularity of electronic cigarettes continues to skyrocket across the United States. Given the multitude of aggressive promotional campaigns launched by e-cigarette manufacturers, including some that have offered unsubstantiated health claims, this rapid growth is not surprising. Despite this popularity, many consumers may be unaware that some in the health care community consider e-cigarette use a serious public health issue because most e-cigarettes deliver highly addictive nicotine through vapor. Consequently, the Food and Drug Administration now requires e-cigarette manufacturers to disclose information about the highly addictive nature of their products. Results across two studies show that addiction warnings and health claims presented in e-cigarette advertising influence consumers’ risk beliefs. Although a warning statement increases consumers’ addiction risk beliefs, the concurrent presence of a health-related claim in the e-cigarette advertisement weakens the effect. Findings also suggest that addiction warnings have the potential to indirectly influence consumers’ intentions for future electronic and traditional cigarette use in the absence of an explicit health claim. Implications for both consumer health and public policy are offered.

‘The lesser devil you don’t know’: a qualitative study of smokers’ responses to messages communicating comparative risk of electronic and combusted cigarettes

“…Recently, researchers have begun evaluating messages about comparative risks of electronic and combusted cigarettes 17–24. Quantitative studies of comparative risk messages have reported mixed findings.…”

Vaping Viewpoints: A Multi‐Segment Understanding of E‐Cigarette Risk Perceptions

“…A study by Lee et al () found that those exposed to warning labels on an e‐cigarette product found the information easy to understand and prompted them to be concerned about health risks, and half of the participants not exposed to a warning label actually reported having seen one. Furthermore, Berry, Burton, and Howlett () found a significant influence of addiction warning labels on e‐cigarette perceptions across all consumer segments, although the effect was attenuated in the presence of a positive health claim. In combination, prior work illustrates the potentially influential and positive role of warning labels for e‐cigarettes, yet similarly highlights needed areas of inquiry surrounding more expansive health awareness and messaging.…”

“…Within the e‐cigarette domain, recent scholarship addressing addiction‐specific warning labels illustrates a greater awareness of addiction risk when a warning label is present (Berry, Burton, and Howlett ). We build on this finding to explore how communicating different forms of health‐risk information may influence consumers' understanding and acceptance of risk, comparing across consumer use segments.…”

Targeted Versus Nontargeted Communication About Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems in Three Smoker Groups

“…Because the perception that ENDS are less harmful than cigarettes is usually cited as one of the most important reason for their use [ 8 , 9 ], it is imperative to understand how to communicate to the public about the comparative risk of ENDS and cigarettes. However, only a few studies have examined the effects of messages communicating the risk differential between ENDS and combusted cigarettes [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ]. These studies found that comparative risk messages about ENDS were able to reduce smokers’ perceived risk of ENDS relative to combusted cigarettes [ 13 , 14 , 15 ], increase smokers’ interest in using ENDS [ 10 , 16 ], and reduce smoking intentions [ 15 ] and smoking behavior during the study [ 17 ].…”

“…While effects of messages on comparative ENDS risks have sometimes been evaluated among separate demographic groups or by product use status [ 10 , 12 , 48 ], past research has not employed more nuanced psychographic segmentation to determine the target audiences. Informed by the aforementioned theoretical models of segmentation and the previous segmentation efforts in the tobacco domain [ 10 , 49 ], we took individual-level characteristics, including current and previous tobacco use behavior practices, cognitions about ENDS use, and demographic information, to be the focal segmentation parameters in the present study.…”