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Teens who find e-cigarette ads effective more likely to try them

Youth who had never previously used e-cigarettes perceived them as “cooler, more fun, healthier and more enjoyable,” after viewing e-cigarette advertisements, and those who thought the marketing was effective were more likely to have positive attitudes about their use, according to a study published in Nicotine and Tobacco Research.

“Although advertising of conventional cigarettes has been banned from television since 1971, e-cigarette advertisements are widely televised,” Jennifer C. Duke, PhD, of the Center for Health Policy Science and Tobacco Research, RTI International, in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and colleagues wrote. “From 2011 to 2013, exposure to televised e-cigarette advertisements increased by 256% among U.S. youth and by 321% among young adults.”

To enhance the understanding of how advertising may affect youth attitudes toward e-cigarettes and their intention to try them, the researchers conducted a national online survey, in which 5,020 teens aged 13 to 17 years were asked about their e-cigarette use. Of the survey participants, 3,665 teens who had not tried e-cigarettes, and were able to view advertisements, were chosen to take part in the study.

Participants were randomly assigned into one of two groups: Treatment condition or control condition. In the treatment group, the 1,811 participants viewed and rated four e-cigarette television advertisements, then completed a questionnaire on their views regarding e-cigarettes. Members of the control group completed the survey first, and then viewed and rated the advertisements. The perceived effectiveness (PE) of the advertisements were measured on a scale of 1 to 5.

Among the participants in the treatment condition, intention to use e-cigarettes in the future rose as their PE of the advertisements increased. According to the researchers, intent to use e-cigarettes was more than twice as high among adolescents with PE scores in the highest quintile, compared to those with scores in the lowest. The mean PE score was 2.7. The researchers also found that an overall increase in youth attitudes in favor of, and intention to use, e-cigarettes, among those who had never used them before, as a function of PE. Greater PE predicted a more positive attitude toward and greater intention to use e-cigarettes among participants in the treatment condition.

“This study sheds light on the mechanism by which recent increases in e-cigarette advertising may be driving the steep rise in youth e-cigarette use, and contributes to a growing body of evidence suggesting that e-cigarette advertising influences youth perceptions about and intention to try e-cigarettes,” Duke and colleagues wrote. “Approaches previously used to reduce the effect of tobacco advertising on youth — such as regulations prohibiting tobacco advertising on television — may be effectively applied to e-cigarettes.” – by Jason Laday

Disclosure: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.