Electroniccigarette(?e-cigarette?)usehasbeensteadilyincreasingintheU.S.overthepastdecade, particularlyamongadolescentsandyoungadults.Withthegrowingpopularityofrefillablee-cigarettes,the liquidusedtorefilldevices(?e-liquid?)haspresenteditselfadistincthealthconcern.E-liquidsmostoften containnicotine,aresoldinarangeofappealingflavorsandcolors,andarepurchasedonaregularbasisby usersofrefillablee-cigarettes.Astherehasbeennofederalregulationofe-cigarettesore-liquidsuntilrecently, misleadingandunauthorizedmarketinghasproliferatedonline.Thereisevidencethatexposuretomarketing promotese-cigaretteuseandthebeliefinunsubstantiatedclaims.Atpresent,thereislittleunderstandingof howe-liquidsaremarketedonsocialmediaortheelementsofsocialmediamarketingthataremostappealing andpersuasivetoyoungadults.ThegoalofthisproposedR03researchstudyistoshedlightonthemarketing ofe-liquidonthesocialmediaplatformInstagram,whichisparticularlyappealingtomarketerssinceeachpost mustcontainanimageorshortvideo.E-liquidmarketingonInstagramhasnotpreviouslybeenstudieddespite exploratoryresearchsuggestingtheplatformishometoalargevolumeofe-liquidpostsandthefactthat InstagramisusedbyoverhalfofallU.S.adolescentsandyoungadultswhousetheinternet.Tounderstand thiscontent,thestudyteamwill:1)documentthewaysinwhichmanufacturersandretailersofe-liquidmarket theirproductsonInstagram,and2)discernhowyoungadultsinterpretandrespondtosocialmediamarketing fore-liquidonInstagram.Morespecifically,acontentanalysisof2,000Instagrampostswiththehashtags #eliquidand/or#ejuicewillbeperformedtoidentifymarketingthemesandclaims,promotionalstrategies,and productspromoted.Health,harmreduction,andcessationclaims,aswellasproductsandmarketing strategiesknowntoappealtoyouthwillbeafocusofanalysis.Postswillbedrawnfromfourtimeperiodsin 2017and2018inordertocaptureanychangesincontentovertime.Additionally,thetotalnumberofposts witheachhashtagwillbetrackedtodeterminetrendsinthevolumeofe-liquidactivityonInstagram.In conjunctionwiththis,focusgroupswillbeheldwith18to24yearoldswhouseInstagraminthecityof Milwaukee,WI.Eachfocusgroupwillbecenteredondiscerningparticipantinterpretationsandresponsesto actualInstagrammarketingposts.Thisresearchwillcontributetounderstandingofsourcesofpublic perceptionsofe-liquids,particularlyamongyoungadults,andhelptodevelopthescientificbasisfordecision makingonregulatoryneedsandprioritiesinthesocialmediaenvironment.
Ourstudyidentifyingandexploringyoungadultresponsestocommone-liquidmarketingpracticeson InstagramisexpectedtohelptodevelopthescientificbasisforFDAdecisionmakingonregulatoryneedsand prioritiesrelatedtobotheg liquidsandsocialmedia.Thisinturnwillhelptopromotethepublic'shealthby reducingexposuretomisleadingandunauthorizedclaimsaboute-liquidforrefillablee-cigarettes.
| Laestadius, Linnea I; Wahl, Megan M; Pokhrel, Pallav et al. (2018) From Apple to Werewolf: A content analysis of marketing for e-liquids on Instagram. Addict Behav : |
