Friday, July 11, 2014
Researchers recently found that adults are being exposed to e-cigarette marketing through the media, and that such marketing may target particular social groups differently. According to these researchers, the marketing and promotion of electronic cigarette wholesale through the media has significantly contributed to the rise in awareness and popularity of their use.
Current tobacco users may view e-cigarette products as viable smoking cessation aids, the researchers wrote. Adults are being exposed to electronic cigarette company marketing through the media, but the ads are reaching out to different social groups in different ways, according to this new study by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
In a press statement, Dr. Sherry Emery, senior research scientist at the UIC Institute of Health Research and Policy and lead author of this study, said, “These findings may have implications for e-cigarette marketing regulation.”
Dr. Emery and colleagues found that of the 17,522 study participants who were questioned in a 2013 online survey, 86 percent knew about e-cigarettes or some electronic cigarette manufacturer. Of those who knew about e-cigarettes, 47 percent had seen or heard ads for vaping (the act of using an e-cigarette) on TV, radio, print ads or online.
The study’s authors wrote these findings are significant "given how recently these products have entered the market and the fact that less than 20 percent of the US population was aware of them 5 years ago.” Of the various media outlets, TV was the most common medium. Nearly two thirds of study participants reported that they saw ads for e-cigs on TV. Other popular locations for e-cig advertising were through internet banner ads (14 percent), emails (13 percent), internet search engines (11 percent) and Facebook (9 percent).
According to the researchers, "There is evidence that rates of e-cigarette use and awareness also are increasing rapidly.”
Original article: E-Cigarette Ads in Many Places
