Bahl Deepika, Bassi Shalini, Thapliyal Nishibha, Aneja Kashish, Sinha Praveen, Arora Monika
Health Promotion Division, Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), New Delhi, India.
Non Communicable Disease, World Health Organization, New Delhi,India.
Tob Use Insights. 2024 Nov 15;17:1179173X241264504. doi: 10.1177/1179173X241264504. eCollection 2024.
India is one of the few countries to have banned production, manufacture, import, export, transport, sale, distribution, storage and advertisement of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes). With the advent of technology, these product are being marketed extensively on internet despite the ban. To assess promotion and sales of e-cigarettes on the internet, and social networking sites (SNS); and to assess the levels of awareness regarding e-cigarettes among youth participants and the source of receiving information on e-cigarettes. In 2022, a survey was conducted with youth (18-24 years), along with a desk review to identify influencers promoting, and e-stores selling e-cigarettes in India. Further, a content analysis was conducted on the identified influencers and online stores. 370 youth with a mean age of 21.1 ± 1.7 years participated in the survey. 66.6% of participants reported being aware of e-cigarettes through social media. Instagram (46%) was identified as the most popular social networking platform for promoting e-cigarettes. 189 influencers promoting e-cigarettes on Instagram were identified and their posts positively portrayed e-cigarettes (trendy/cool, flavours, hedonic value, features cessation aid and cost-effective). Additionally, 83 e-stores (49 Indian and 34 international) were identified as selling e-cigarettes in India. Findings from content analysis of both influencers and e-stores highlighted issue of international cross-border marketing. To safeguard youth and achieve a path to Tobacco-free generation; there is a dire need for strengthening the monitoring and enforcement of PECA 2019, especially to address international cross-border advertisements and sales of e-cigarettes. Additionally establishing strong reporting violation mechanisms is also needed. Furthermore, educating youth, retailers, policy makers and community via sensitization programs on detrimental effects of e-cigarette use and existing policies related to e-cigarettes in India is crucial.
印度是少数几个禁止电子烟生产、制造、进口、出口、运输、销售、分销、储存和广告的国家之一。随着技术的出现，尽管有禁令，这些产品仍在互联网上广泛销售。为了评估电子烟在互联网和社交网站上的推广和销售情况；并评估青年参与者对电子烟的认知水平以及获取电子烟信息的来源。2022年，对18至24岁的青年进行了一项调查，并进行了案头审查，以确定在印度推广电子烟的有影响力的人和销售电子烟的电子商店。此外，对确定的有影响力的人和在线商店进行了内容分析。370名平均年龄为21.1±1.7岁的青年参与了调查。66.6%的参与者报告通过社交媒体了解到电子烟。照片墙（46%）被确定为推广电子烟最受欢迎的社交网络平台。在照片墙上发现了189个推广电子烟的有影响力的人，他们的帖子对电子烟进行了正面描述（时尚/酷炫、口味、享乐价值、具有戒烟辅助功能且性价比高）。此外，83家电子商店（49家印度的和34家国际 的）被确定在印度销售电子烟。对有影响力的人和电子商店的内容分析结果突出了国际跨境营销的问题。为了保护青年并实现无烟一代的目标；迫切需要加强对2019年《禁止电子烟法》的监测和执行，特别是要解决电子烟的国际跨境广告和销售问题。此外，还需要建立强有力的举报违规机制。此外，通过宣传项目对青年、零售商、政策制定者和社区进行关于使用电子烟的有害影响以及印度现有电子烟相关政策的教育至关重要。
