Introduction
Adolescents’ use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) and exposure to e-cigarette
TV advertising have increased in recent years, despite questions about their safety.
The current study tests whether exposure to e-cigarette TV advertisements influences
intentions to use e-cigarettes in the future and related attitudes.
Methods
A parallel-group randomized controlled experiment was conducted and analyzed in 2014
using an online survey with a convenience sample of 3,655 U.S. adolescents aged 13–17
years who had never tried e-cigarettes. Adolescents in the treatment group viewed
four e-cigarette TV advertisements.
Results
Adolescents in the treatment group reported a greater likelihood of future e-cigarette
use compared with the control group. ORs for the treatment group were 1.54 (p=0.001) for trying an e-cigarette soon; 1.43 (p=0.003) for trying an e-cigarette within the next year; and 1.29 (p=0.02) for trying an e-cigarette if a best friend offered one. Adolescents in the
treatment group had higher odds of agreeing that e-cigarettes can be used in places
where cigarettes are not allowed (OR=1.71, p<0.001); can be used without affecting those around you (OR=1.83, p<0.001); are a safer alternative to cigarettes (OR=1.19, p=0.01); and are less toxic (OR=1.16, p=0.03).
Conclusions
Exposure to e-cigarette advertising had relatively large and consistent effects across
experimental outcomes. Together with the simultaneous increase in e-cigarette advertising
exposure and e-cigarette use among adolescents, findings suggest that e-cigarette
advertising is persuading adolescents to try this novel product. This raises concerns
that continued unregulated e-cigarette advertising will contribute to potential individual-
and population-level harm.
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: July 06, 2015
Identification
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© 2015 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
