Pavy Megan, Shin Heesung, Malik Nicole, Whooley Simone, Tefilin Nathan, Smiley Sabrina L
Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, United States.
College of Letters and Science, University of California, Los Angeles, United States.
Tob Prev Cessat. 2022 Jun 29;8:25. doi: 10.18332/tpc/150585. eCollection 2022.
Brick-and-mortar vape shops have increased in recent years, but there is limited research on the types of marketing claims consumers are exposed to on their websites - a dominant channel for marketing electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). We investigated the websites of vape shop retailers in the Greater Los Angeles Area to describe their ENDS marketing claims.
Data collection occurred between 25 March and 20 June 2020. Of the 104 brick-and-mortar vape shops identified, 37 were found to have active websites. Rules were established to analyze website content. were coded as the presence or absence of: 1) a direct claim of ENDS as a quitting aid; 2) a disclaimer that ENDS are not approved as smoking cessation devices (i.e. ENDS products are not FDA-approved for smoking cessation); 3) a direct claim of ENDS as healthier/safer than combustible cigarettes; and 4) direct claims regarding social benefits, including that ENDS are less expensive, can be used in more places, are cleaner or less messy/smelly, and are more socially accepted than combustible cigarettes.
Smoking cessation-related benefits were claimed most frequently (43%), followed by health-related claims (30%), and disclaimers that ENDS are not approved as smoking cessation devices (24%). More than half (56.4%) of websites had an age restriction, requiring the user to click on a box to state that they were aged ≥21 years to view the site. None required proof or outside verification of age.
Brick-and-mortar vape shops in the Greater Los Angeles Area are marketing ENDS on their websites as a healthier alternative to smoking cigarettes. Although half of the websites had an age gate popup that consumers see when they enter the website, action is needed to better enforce age restriction on access to vape shop websites. Utility for smoking cessation was claimed most frequently, followed by the claims of healthier alternatives to smoking cigarettes, and disclaimers that ENDS are not approved as smoking cessation devices. We discuss implications for tobacco regulatory policy.
近年来实体电子烟商店数量有所增加，但关于消费者在其网站上接触到的营销宣传类型的研究有限，而网站是电子尼古丁传送系统（ENDS）营销的主要渠道。我们调查了大洛杉矶地区电子烟商店零售商的网站，以描述他们对ENDS的营销宣传。
数据收集于2020年3月25日至6月20日进行。在确定的104家实体电子烟商店中，发现有37家拥有活跃网站。制定了规则来分析网站内容。内容被编码为是否存在以下内容：1）直接宣称ENDS是戒烟辅助工具；2）关于ENDS未被批准为戒烟设备的免责声明（即ENDS产品未获得美国食品药品监督管理局（FDA）批准用于戒烟）；3）直接宣称ENDS比可燃香烟更健康/更安全；4）关于社会益处的直接宣称，包括ENDS比可燃香烟更便宜、可在更多场所使用、更清洁或更少脏乱/气味，以及更被社会接受。
与戒烟相关的益处宣称最为频繁（43%），其次是与健康相关的宣称（30%），以及关于ENDS未被批准为戒烟设备的免责声明（24%）。超过一半（56.4%）的网站设置了年龄限制，要求用户点击一个框来表明他们年满21岁才能查看该网站。没有一个网站要求提供年龄证明或外部年龄核实。
大洛杉矶地区的实体电子烟商店在其网站上宣传ENDS是比吸烟更健康的选择。虽然一半的网站在消费者进入网站时会弹出年龄限制弹窗，但需要采取行动以更好地执行对电子烟商店网站访问的年龄限制。宣称ENDS对戒烟有用的情况最为频繁，其次是宣称是比吸烟更健康的选择，以及关于ENDS未被批准为戒烟设备的免责声明。我们讨论了对烟草监管政策的影响。
