Depiction of Health Effects of Electronic Cigarettes on YouTube.

BACKGROUND

This study was conducted to assess the quantity, quality, and reach of e-cigarette health effects YouTube videos, and to quantify the description of positive and negative e-cigarette health effects and promotional content in each video.

METHOD

Searches for videos were conducted in 2015 using the YouTube search engine, and the top 20 search results by relevance and view count were identified. Videos were classified by educational/medical news, advertising/marketing, and personal/testimonial categories. A coding sheet was used to assess the presence or absence of negative and positive health effects, and promotional content.

RESULTS

Of the 320 videos retrieved, only 55 unique videos were included. The majority of videos (46.9%) were educational/medical/news, 29.7% were personal/testimonial, and 23.4% were advertising/marketing. The three most common negative health effects included discussing nicotine, e-cigarettes not being FDA regulated, and known and unknown health consequences related to e-cigarette use. The top positive health effects discussed were how e-cigarettes can help individuals quit smoking, e-cigarettes are healthier than smoking, and e-cigarettes have no smoke or secondhand smoke exposure.

CONCLUSIONS

It is critical to monitor YouTube health effects content and develop appropriate messages to inform consumers about the risks associated with use while mitigating misleading information presented.