Q&A: Medical TV shows contribute to views on vaping-related lung injury

Medical drama television episodes with narratives about e-cigarette- or vaping-associated lung injury — or EVALI — garnered more than 600 reactions from viewers on Twitter, according to a study published in Journal of Health Communication.

Through an analysis of tweets after the release of New Amsterdam, Chicago Med and Grey’s Anatomy episodes from 2020, all featuring an EVALI storyline, researchers found 641 relevant posts on the social media platform.

The content in viewer’s comments ranged from their feelings about the plot, to their thoughts regarding the plot’s realism/unrealism, to how what they watched will influence their vaping behaviors.

To learn more about these storylines, Twitter findings and implications of this research, Healio spoke with Beth L. Hoffman, PhD, MPH, lead researcher and postdoctoral associate in the department of behavioral and community health sciences at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health.

Healio: What inspired this study?

Hoffman: Previous studies suggested that hearing about EVALI in the news might stop people from vaping or get them to quit, so we were curious if watching these storylines could have a similar effect. We also thought that analyzing tweets would be a good way to see how viewers were reacting to the storylines in real-time, in their organic viewing environment.

Healio: In the three medical dramas you analyzed, could you explain the premise of some of the storylines that contained e-cigarettes? Was the show’s message about the harms of e-cigarettes accurate?

Hoffman: In each storyline, an adolescent patient came to the ED with symptoms consistent with EVALI, such as difficulty breathing and coughing. In all three, the doctors named the disease EVALI and there was some discussion of how it was a new disease linked to vaping, with all three patients becoming very sick and requiring intubation and care in the ICU. The shows' messages about the harms of e-cigarettes were accurate.

Healio: To capture viewers’ responses to these storylines, you looked at Twitter. Could you explain your findings and how viewers felt about these stories through their tweets?

Hoffman: One of our findings was that some people thought the storylines were accurate and praised the shows for highlighting the dangers of vaping, whereas others thought the storylines were inaccurate because there was no discussion on the shows of THC-containing products (use of THC-containing products was ultimately linked to the majority of EVALI cases). We also found that some viewers discussed knowledge of EVALI in the context of watching the show(s) and several mentioned throwing away their e-cigarette or intention to quit because of watching one of the shows.

Healio: Why is it important that entertainment, such as TV shows, features characters that have EVALI or interweave EVALI into the storyline?

Hoffman: According to viewing estimates, more than 4 million people saw at least one of these storylines. So, interweaving EVALI — or any important health topic — into storylines on popular television programs is a really powerful way to disseminate health information to a lot of people and potentially have a profound impact on population health.

Healio: Do you believe that clinicians can use these shows to educate youth on the dangers of vaping? Further, do you have any plans for future studies on this topic?

Hoffman: I do, and this plays a role in my current research. We are currently studying the use of clips from these storylines as part of vaping prevention programs offered to middle school students. My colleagues and I also recently received an R01 research project grant from the National Institutes of Health to look at nicotine and tobacco misinformation on youth-oriented social media platforms.

For more information:

Beth L. Hoffman, PhD, MPH, can be reached at beth.hoffman@pitt.edu.

References:

• Hoffman BL, et al. J Health Comm. 2023;doi:10.1080/10810730.2023.2201814.
• Medical dramas influence thoughts on dangers from vaping, new Twitter analysis reveals. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/986378. Published April 17, 2023. Accessed April 18, 2023.