The Messages Presented in Electronic Cigarette–Related Social Media Promotions and Discussion: Scoping Review

Abstract

Background There has been a rapid rise in the popularity of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) over the last decade, with growth predicted to continue. The uptake of these devices has escalated despite inconclusive evidence of their efficacy as a smoking cessation device and unknown long-term health consequences. As smoking rates continue to drop or plateau in many well-developed countries, transnational tobacco companies have transitioned into the vaping industry and are now using social media to promote their products. Evidence indicates e-cigarettes are being marketed on social media as a harm reduction alternative, with retailers and manufacturers utilizing marketing techniques historically used by the tobacco industry. Objective This study aimed to identify and describe the messages presented in e-cigarette–related social media (Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest) promotions and discussions and identify future directions for research, surveillance, and regulation. Methods Data sources included MEDLINE, Scopus, ProQuest, Informit, the Journal of Medical Internet Research , and Google Scholar. Included studies were published in English between 2007 and 2017, analyzed content captured from e-cigarette–related social media promotions or discussions, and reported results for e-cigarettes separately from other forms of tobacco and nicotine delivery. Database search ceased in October 2017. Initial searches identified 536 studies. Two reviewers screened studies by title and abstract. One reviewer examined 71 full-text articles to determine eligibility and identified 25 studies for inclusion. This process was undertaken with the assistance of the Web-based screening and data extraction tool—Covidence. The review was registered with the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Systematic Reviews database and followed the methodology for JBI Scoping Reviews. Results Several key messages are being used to promote e-cigarettes including as a safer alternative to cigarettes, efficacy as a smoking cessation aid, and for use where smoking is prohibited. Other major marketing efforts aimed at capturing a larger market involve promotion of innovative flavoring and highlighting the public performance of vaping. Discussion and promotion of these devices appear to be predominantly occurring among the general public and those with vested interests such as retailers and manufacturers. There is a noticeable silence from the public health and government sector in these discussions on social media. Conclusions The social media landscape is dominated by pro-vaping messages disseminated by the vaping industry and vaping proponents. The uncertainty surrounding e-cigarette regulation expressed within the public health field appears not to be reflected in ongoing social media dialogues and highlights the need for public health professionals to interact with the public to actively in...

E-Cigarette Advocates on Twitter: Content Analysis of Vaping-Related Tweets

“…Facilitating this growth is the increasing trend toward online retailing and social media consumption [ 3 ]. Social media has emerged as a popular forum for e-cigarette users (vapers) and prospective users to learn about and share their experiences with nicotine and vaping devices, for businesses to promote their products, and for e-cigarette advocates to debate regulatory regimes [ 4 , 5 ]. Digital media, including social media and social networking platforms, are increasingly preferred sources for health information and dissemination [ 6 ].…”

“…As the majority of Twitter content is publicly available, the platform has become a rich data source for public health surveillance providing insights into emergent phenomena, such as vaping [ 11 ]. Recent investigations have shown that Twitter users are overwhelmingly exposed to positive messages about vaping, most notably marketing and promotion, and that public health messaging is particularly absent from communications [ 4 ]. Although there is a growing body of literature that has examined the content of vaping-related tweets [ 4 , 12 ], less is known about the people who generate and disseminate these messages, and the role of e-cigarette advocates in this promotion.…”

Smoking Cessation and Vaping Cessation Attempts among Cigarette Smokers and E-Cigarette Users in Central and Eastern Europe

“…In recent years, electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) were marketed as an effective smoking cessation tool [17][18][19]. Between 2012 and 2017 the proportion of current tobacco smokers in the EU who had ever tried to quit tobacco smoking using e-cigarettes increased from 7.1% to 15.6% respectively [5].…”

E-cigarettes: knowledge and usage habits among dental patients

“…This may be because e-cigarettes are relatively new on the market and evidences pertaining to any detrimental effects have still to reach the public 9 . Furthermore, information available online is mostly dominated by the vaping industry and could be biased 12 .…”

“…More recently, a significant portion of e-cigarette business has been conducted on the internet, including company websites, blogs and social media (YouTube, Twitter and others). This has changed and expanded the focus of the 'e-cigarettes propaganda', that is now not only advertised as a tool for smoking cessation, or as a 'healthier' alternative to smoking, but also as a compelling and exciting recreational activity, whereby the person can create his/her own unique vaping experience with the use of different flavors, device modification, and vape tricks 12 .…”