Social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and Facebook are overwhelmingly positive about vaping. This kind of messaging makes the use of e-cigarettes see...
Social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and Facebook are overwhelmingly positive about vaping. This kind of messaging makes the use of e-cigarettes seem common and socially acceptable.
Traditional tobacco advertising has been banned in Australia for decades. However, e-cigarettes have been widely promoted on social media, undoing some of the positive gains of previous decades.
The content policies of most platforms explicitly prohibit the promotion of the use of tobacco products, including e-cigarettes. But new research released this week shows that those policies are often violated with little or no consequence.
E-cigarette use among young people, including in Australia, is rising rapidly. So is the evidence that vaping is harmful to health.
Positive social media messages about vaping may particularly affect young people, who are the most frequent users of social media. In some cases, the messages have even been shown to be blatantly targeted at teens.
Young people who view social media posts about vaping are more likely to vape and view vaping positively, research shows. This is true of both vaping ads and user-generated content, with creators effectively doing the marketing work for vaping companies.
TikTok emphasizes skill and downplays harm
In our recently published study, we looked at how e-cigarettes are advertised and promoted on TikTok. In February 2022, we analyzed 264 English-language user-generated vaping videos and evaluated them against TikTok's own content policy.
We found that the majority of videos (98%) portrayed vaping positively.
More than a quarter of the videos promoted the purchase of vaping products, in clear violation of TikTok’s content policies.
Few of the videos included health warnings. Only 2% of posts mentioned vaping or nicotine addiction.
A handful of posts mentioned public health professionals or commented on vaping regulation. The popularity of these posts is relatively low, receiving a small percentage of views and likes.
Half of the videos mentioned the vaping community. These posts were more popular than those that did not mention a shared identity. This could shape norms around vaping use and increase perceptions that vaping is socially acceptable.
Popular posts also included references to vape tricks (such as creating shapes from exhaled aerosols), which early research suggests teens often cite as the reason they started vaping. The posts also use humor, an effective tool for engaging younger social media users.
Videos that violate content policies often provide detailed information on how and where to buy vaping products. This includes providing links to online retailers and other social media accounts.
Promotions such as giveaways and sale prices are common, which is a direct violation of the Content Policy. Many posts also offer product reviews.
So what needs to happen?
We cannot rely on platforms to develop and enforce content policies. Violations of social media policies usually do not have significant consequences - the platform decides the consequences of the violation for itself.
This is a problem because social media platforms have clear financial incentives not to punish those who violate their policies.
The federal government's recent tough stance to end youth vaping through regulation, enforcement, education, plain packaging and banning flavors has been welcomed.
However, this does not include a ban on vaping advertising, promotion and sponsorship on social media, which is clearly needed.
The focus needs to be on policy implementation. This must include requiring social media platforms to report on how they ensure compliance.
Current policies and review processes do not do enough to limit the spread of pro-vaping content on TikTok. This exposes young social media users to e-cigarette use. Increased regulation of e-cigarette content and its promotion is needed to prevent future vaping and harm to young people.
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Add：6 / F, block B, building 2, Fuyong Tongtai times center, Bao'an District, Shenzhen Website
