Center for Tobacco Studies, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA
Department of Health Behavior, Society, and Policy, Rutgers School of Public Health, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA.
Tob Control. 2023 Dec 13;33(1):30-37. doi: 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2022-057269.
Young adults new to tobacco (including e-cigarettes) are at an increased risk of e-cigarette use after e-cigarette exposure. This study examined the association between noticing e-cigarette advertising features and perceived product appeal among non-tobacco-using young adults.
A sample of non-tobacco-using young adults (ages 18-29 years; n=1993) completed an online survey in 2021. We content analysed visible features from 12 e-cigarette ads that represented commonly used e-cigarette brands. Participants viewed the ads and clicked on the areas of the ads that drew their attention. Participants reported e-cigarette product appeal for each ad, including ad liking, product curiosity and use interest. We used generalised estimating equations to examine within-person associations between noticing specific ad features and reporting each and any type of product appeal, adjusting for noticing other features and participant characteristics.
Noticing people, discounts, non-tobacco (menthol and mint/fruit) flavours, positive experience claims or product images was positively associated with having any e-cigarette product appeal. Noticing discounts or mint/fruit flavours was also positively associated with e-cigarette use interest. In contrast, noticing nicotine warnings or smoking cessation claims was negatively associated with ad liking and product curiosity.
Attention to several e-cigarette ad features (eg, people, discounts, non-tobacco flavours) was associated with increased e-cigarette product appeal, whereas attention to nicotine warnings and smoking cessation claims was associated with reduced appeal among non-tobacco-using young adults. Restricting appeal-promoting features while strengthening the effects of nicotine warnings and smoker-targeted claims in e-cigarette ads may potentially reduce e-cigarettes' overall appeal among this priority population.
刚接触烟草（包括电子烟）的年轻人在接触电子烟后，使用电子烟的风险增加。本研究调查了注意到电子烟广告特征与非烟草使用的年轻成年人对电子烟产品吸引力的感知之间的关联。
2021 年，我们对非烟草使用的年轻成年人（年龄 18-29 岁；n=1993）进行了一项在线调查。我们对 12 个电子烟广告的可见特征进行了内容分析，这些广告代表了常用的电子烟品牌。参与者观看广告并点击吸引他们注意的广告区域。参与者报告了每个广告的电子烟产品吸引力，包括对广告的喜爱、产品好奇心和使用兴趣。我们使用广义估计方程来检验个体内在关联，即在注意到特定广告特征与报告每种和任何类型的产品吸引力之间的关联，同时考虑到注意到其他特征和参与者特征。
注意到人物、折扣、非烟草（薄荷和水果/薄荷味）口味、正面体验声明或产品图像与任何电子烟产品吸引力呈正相关。注意到折扣或水果/薄荷味也与电子烟使用兴趣呈正相关。相比之下，注意到尼古丁警告或戒烟声明与广告喜爱和产品好奇心呈负相关。
对电子烟广告的几个特征（如人物、折扣、非烟草口味）的关注与电子烟产品吸引力的增加有关，而对尼古丁警告和戒烟声明的关注与非烟草使用的年轻成年人吸引力降低有关。在电子烟广告中限制有吸引力的特征，同时加强尼古丁警告和针对吸烟者的声明的效果，可能会降低该重点人群对电子烟的整体吸引力。
