University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, USA.
University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, USA.
Health Educ Behav. 2020 Aug;47(4):611-618. doi: 10.1177/1090198120928992. Epub 2020 Jun 8.
Social media platforms are home to large volumes of ambiguous hashtag-based claims about the health, modified-risk, and cessation benefits of electronic cigarette products (e.g., #Vapingsavedmylife). The objective of this study was to qualitatively explore how young adults interpret these hashtags on the popular platform Instagram. Specifically, we sought to identify if they view these hashtags as making health-related claims, and if they find these claims to be credible and valid. We conducted 12 focus groups in 2018 with non-tobacco users, smokers, dual users, and vapers between the ages of 18 and 24 ( = 69). Using real Instagram posts to guide discussion, participants reflected on the meaning of potentially claims-making hashtags. Participants interpreted the majority of the hashtags as making health-related claims. However, many participants felt that the claims were too exaggerated to be entirely valid. Some participants, including dual users and vapers, argued that smoking and vaping were largely equivalent. Smokers were particularly skeptical of claims. Findings suggest that the U. S. Food and Drug Administration should consider hashtag-based claims in their regulatory efforts. However, further research is needed on how to pragmatically address claims taking the form of hashtags given legal and practical constraints.
社交媒体平台上充斥着大量关于电子烟产品的健康、降低风险和戒烟益处的含含糊糊的基于标签的说法（例如，#Vapingsavedmylife）。本研究的目的是定性探讨年轻人如何在流行的 Instagram 平台上解释这些标签。具体来说，我们试图确定他们是否将这些标签视为与健康相关的说法，以及他们是否认为这些说法可信和有效。我们于 2018 年进行了 12 次焦点小组讨论，参与者是非烟草使用者、吸烟者、双重使用者和年龄在 18 至 24 岁之间的电子烟使用者（=69 人）。参与者使用真实的 Instagram 帖子来引导讨论，反思潜在的具有声明性质的标签的含义。参与者将大多数标签解释为与健康相关的声明。然而，许多参与者认为这些声明过于夸张，无法完全有效。一些参与者，包括双重使用者和电子烟使用者，认为吸烟和电子烟在很大程度上是等效的。吸烟者对这些声明特别持怀疑态度。研究结果表明，美国食品和药物管理局应在其监管工作中考虑基于标签的声明。然而，鉴于法律和实际限制，需要进一步研究如何切实解决以标签形式出现的声明问题。
