Hsu Greta, Sun Jessica Y, Zhu Shu-Hong
Graduate School of Management, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, United States.
Moores Cancer Center, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States.
J Med Internet Res. 2018 Mar 12;20(3):e80. doi: 10.2196/jmir.8550.
The electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) industry has grown in size and organizational complexity in recent years, most notably with the entry of major tobacco companies in 2012 and the proliferation of vape shops. Many brands maintain retail websites that present e-cigarette marketing claims and sell directly to consumers. Understanding of the evolving composition of different types of e-cigarette brand websites is currently underdeveloped.
This paper presents how e-cigarette brand websites surveyed in 2013-2014 evolved by 2016-2017, and how the websites run by different types of e-cigarette producers currently differ.
In 2016-2017, we revisited 466 e-cigarette brand websites surveyed in 2013-2014, 288 of which were extant, and identified 145 new English-language websites. We compared product designs, marketing claims, and age-based warnings presented by types of e-cigarette producers: major tobacco companies, independent vape shops, and independent internet-only companies.
Among the 433 websites examined in 2016-2017, 12 were owned by major tobacco companies, 162 operated a physical vape shop, and 259 were internet-only operations. Closed-system product designs were sold by 83% (10/12) of tobacco-owned brands. In comparison, 29.0% (47/162, P<.001) of vape shop and 55.2% (143/259, P=.06) of internet-only brands sold closed-system designs. Compared with vape shop and internet-only brands, tobacco-owned brands offered a smaller set of product models (P values <.001) and a narrower range of flavors (P values <.01), with greater emphasis on the traditional combustible cigarette flavors of tobacco and menthol (P values <.001). Tobacco-owned brands also offered a narrower range of nicotine options than the vape shops (P=.002) and were less likely to offer nicotine-free e-liquid compared with internet-only and vape shop brands (P values <.001). Finally, 83% (10/12) of tobacco-owned brand websites featured age verification pop-up windows. In comparison, only 50.2% (130/259) of internet-only brands (P=.01) and 60.5% (98/162) of vape shop brands (P=.06) featured age verification windows. Websites surveyed in both 2013-2014 and 2016-2017 became more likely to sell open-system mods (P<.001) and sold an increased number of product models (P<.001), flavors (P<.001), and nicotine options (P<.001). Prevalence of several types of claims decreased significantly, including indirect claims regarding smoking cessation (P<.001), claims regarding e-cigarettes as healthier (P<.001), less expensive (P<.001), and usable in more places (P<.001) compared with combustible cigarettes.
The number of e-cigarette brands has not appeared to increase since 2014, even as website messaging evolved, with brands owned by tobacco companies and vape shops pulling in opposite directions. Brands owned by tobacco companies offered a limited range of e-cigarette products, whereas brands owned by vape shops emphasized a panoply of flavor and nicotine options. Furthermore, the Food and Drug Administration's regulatory action may influence the types of e-cigarette products offered and the market shares of various companies.
近年来，电子烟行业规模不断扩大，组织架构日益复杂，最显著的是2012年各大烟草公司的进入以及电子烟商店的激增。许多品牌都设有零售网站，展示电子烟营销宣传内容并直接向消费者销售产品。目前，对于不同类型电子烟品牌网站不断演变的构成的了解尚不完善。
本文介绍了2013 - 2014年调查的电子烟品牌网站到2016 - 2017年是如何演变的，以及目前不同类型电子烟生产商运营的网站有何差异。
在2016 - 2017年，我们回访了2013 - 2014年调查的466个电子烟品牌网站，其中288个仍然存在，并识别出145个新的英文网站。我们比较了不同类型电子烟生产商（大型烟草公司、独立电子烟商店和仅在互联网运营的独立公司）展示的产品设计、营销宣传内容和基于年龄的警示。
在2016 - 2017年检查的433个网站中，12个由大型烟草公司所有，162个经营实体电子烟商店，259个仅在互联网运营。83%（10/12）由烟草公司所有的品牌销售封闭式系统产品设计。相比之下，29.0%（47/162，P<.001）的电子烟商店品牌和55.2%（143/259，P = 0.06）仅在互联网运营的品牌销售封闭式系统设计。与电子烟商店品牌和仅在互联网运营的品牌相比，由烟草公司所有的品牌提供的产品型号较少（P值<.001），口味范围较窄（P值<.01），更强调烟草和薄荷醇等传统可燃香烟口味（P值<.001）。由烟草公司所有的品牌提供的尼古丁选项范围也比电子烟商店窄（P = 0.002），与仅在互联网运营的品牌和电子烟商店品牌相比，提供无尼古丁电子烟液的可能性较小（P值<.001）。最后，83%（10/12）由烟草公司所有的品牌网站设有年龄验证弹出窗口。相比之下，仅50.2%（130/259）的仅在互联网运营的品牌（P = 0.01）和60.5%（98/162）的电子烟商店品牌（P = 0.06）设有年龄验证窗口。在2013 - 2014年和2016 - 2017年都接受调查的网站更有可能销售开放式系统模组（P<.001），并且销售的产品型号（P<.001）、口味（P<.001）和尼古丁选项（P<.001）数量增加。几种类型的宣传内容的流行率显著下降，包括关于戒烟的间接宣传（P<.001）、关于电子烟更健康（P<.001）、更便宜（P<.001）以及与可燃香烟相比可在更多场所使用（P<.001）的宣传。
自2014年以来，电子烟品牌数量似乎并未增加，尽管网站信息有所演变，烟草公司所有的品牌和电子烟商店所有的品牌朝着相反方向发展。烟草公司所有的品牌提供的电子烟产品种类有限，而电子烟商店所有的品牌强调多种口味和尼古丁选项。此外，美国食品药品监督管理局的监管行动可能会影响所提供的电子烟产品类型以及各公司的市场份额。
