Truth Initiative Schroeder Institute, Washington, DC, USA.
Division of General Internal Medicine, Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Nicotine Tob Res. 2024 Nov 22;26(12):1708-1713. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntae142.
Herbal cigarettes are made with non-tobacco plant materials (eg, tea leaves, hemp), are typically sold pre-rolled in packs and with filters, and are combusted and smoked like tobacco cigarettes. Herbal cigarette manufacturers have a history of making misleading health claims and at least one company has previously settled with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission over deceptive advertising. This study examined current claims and product characteristics of herbal cigarettes sold by a popular online retailer.
We searched Amazon.com for "herbal cigarettes" and "hemp cigarettes" and identified all herbal cigarette products sold on the first page of search results (n = 51). Two coders independently content analyzed each product's Amazon page for claims (eg, smoking cessation, health), product characteristics (eg, flavors), and presence of disclaimers and warnings.
Overall, 78.4% of product pages made smoking cessation claims (eg, "A more scientific way to quit smoking," "…decreases nicotine craving symptom and helps to quit tobacco smoking"). Further, 45.1% of product pages included claims describing lower risk/exposure compared to tobacco products (eg, "…without the addictive nicotine and toxic chemicals found in tobacco cigarettes"). Some herbal products were available in multiple flavors, including menthol (21.6%) and fruit (17.7%). Only 35.3% of products included visible health warnings on product packaging.
Many herbal cigarette products sold on Amazon.com make unauthorized cessation and health claims. Regulatory agencies must act decisively to stop the misleading advertising of these products and develop appropriate warnings to educate the public about the potential harms.
This content analysis documents the use of unauthorized and misleading claims made in the marketing of herbal cigarettes. These findings highlight the need for enforcement of existing federal regulations, which prohibit deceptive advertising. Research is needed to inform the development of appropriate warning labels that can be used to inform consumers of the potential harms of smoking herbal cigarettes.
草药香烟是用非烟草植物材料（如茶叶、大麻）制成的，通常以预先卷好的包装形式出售，并带有过滤嘴，与传统香烟一样燃烧和吸食。草药香烟制造商在过去曾做出误导性的健康声明，至少有一家公司曾因虚假广告与美国联邦贸易委员会达成和解。本研究调查了一家受欢迎的在线零售商销售的草药香烟的当前声明和产品特征。
我们在 Amazon.com 上搜索“草药香烟”和“大麻香烟”，并确定了搜索结果第一页上销售的所有草药香烟产品（n=51）。两名编码员独立地对每个产品的 Amazon 页面进行内容分析，评估声明（如戒烟、健康）、产品特征（如口味）以及免责声明和警告的存在。
总体而言，78.4%的产品页面做出了戒烟声明（例如，“更科学的戒烟方法”、“……减少尼古丁渴望症状，帮助戒烟”）。此外，45.1%的产品页面包括描述与烟草产品相比风险/暴露程度较低的声明（例如，“……不含烟草香烟中发现的成瘾性尼古丁和有毒化学物质”）。一些草药产品有多种口味可供选择，包括薄荷（21.6%）和水果（17.7%）。只有 35.3%的产品在产品包装上包含可见的健康警告。
许多在 Amazon.com 上销售的草药香烟产品发布未经授权且具有误导性的戒烟和健康声明。监管机构必须果断采取行动，制止这些产品的误导性广告，并制定适当的警告，以教育公众有关吸食草药香烟的潜在危害。
本内容分析记录了在草药香烟营销中使用未经授权和具有误导性的声明。这些发现强调了需要执行现有的联邦法规，禁止虚假广告。需要进行研究，为制定适当的警告标签提供信息，以便告知消费者吸食草药香烟的潜在危害。
