Promotion of E-Cigarettes on TikTok and Regulatory Considerations

Jonine Jancey (), Tama Leaver, Katharina Wolf, Becky Freeman, Kevin Chai, Stella Bialous, Marilyn Bromberg, Phoebe Adams, Meghan Mcleod, Renee N. Carey and Kahlia McCausland
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Jonine Jancey: Collaboration for Evidence, Research and Impact in Public Health, School of Population Health, Curtin University, Kent Street, Perth, WA 6102, Australia
Tama Leaver: Internet Studies, School of Media, Creative Arts and Social Inquiry, Curtin University, Kent Street, Perth, WA 6102, Australia
Katharina Wolf: School of Marketing, Curtin University, Kent Street, Perth, WA 6102, Australia
Becky Freeman: School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
Kevin Chai: School of Population Health, Curtin University, Kent Street, Perth, WA 6102, Australia
Stella Bialous: School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
Marilyn Bromberg: UWA Law School, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Perth, WA 6009, Australia
Phoebe Adams: Collaboration for Evidence, Research and Impact in Public Health, School of Population Health, Curtin University, Kent Street, Perth, WA 6102, Australia
Meghan Mcleod: Collaboration for Evidence, Research and Impact in Public Health, School of Population Health, Curtin University, Kent Street, Perth, WA 6102, Australia
Renee N. Carey: School of Population Health, Curtin University, Kent Street, Perth, WA 6102, Australia
Kahlia McCausland: Collaboration for Evidence, Research and Impact in Public Health, School of Population Health, Curtin University, Kent Street, Perth, WA 6102, Australia

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 10, 1-10

Abstract: E-cigarettes are promoted extensively on TikTok and other social media platforms. Platform policies to restrict e-cigarette promotion seem insufficient and are poorly enforced. This paper aims to understand how e-cigarettes are being promoted on TikTok and provide insights into the effectiveness of current TikTok policies. Seven popular hashtag-based keywords were used to identify TikTok accounts and associated videos related to e-cigarettes. Posts were independently coded by two trained coders. Collectively, the 264 videos received 2,470,373 views, 166,462 likes and 3426 comments. The overwhelming majority of videos (97.7%) portrayed e-cigarettes positively, and these posts received 98.7% of the total views and 98.2% of the total likes. A total of 69 posts (26.1%) clearly violated TikTok’s own content policy. The findings of the current study suggest that a variety of predominantly pro-vaping content is available on TikTok. Current policies and moderation processes appear to be insufficient in restricting the spread of pro-e-cigarette content on TikTok, putting predominantly young users at potential risk of e-cigarette use.

Keywords: e-cigarettes; public health; social media; TikTok; vaping; young adults (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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