#MiniCupVape E-Cigarettes Promoted on Instagram: A Youth Participatory Action Research Approach.

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Social Media Research
• Tobacco Control

Background:

• E-cigarette promotion is widespread on social media platforms.
• Disguised e-cigarettes, resembling everyday items like boba cups and toys, are increasingly difficult for parents and educators to detect.
• Youth participatory action research was employed to study these products.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize the promotion of miniature boba cup- and toy-shaped e-cigarettes on Instagram.
• To understand the marketing strategies and target audience of these disguised e-cigarettes.

Main Methods:

• Utilized youth researchers and a service-learning course to collect Instagram data from July-December 2022.
• Collected 199 Instagram posts promoting boba cup- and toy-shaped e-cigarettes via an application programming interface.
• Employed trained coders to annotate posts, developing a codebook and ensuring inter-coder reliability.

Main Results:

• A significant portion of posts featured illegal e-cigarette products disguised as miniature boba cups (77%), cola cans (27%), and toys (15%).
• Posts included imagery of young people using these devices (23%) and indications of mass production (11%).
• Marketing content suggested products were for adults (17%) and available for international shipping (35%).

Conclusions:

• The promotion of disguised e-cigarettes on Instagram may appeal to underage individuals.
• Regulatory bodies like the US Food and Drug Administration need to be aware of youth exposure to these illegal products.
• Enhanced surveillance and regulation of youth-popular social media platforms are necessary to mitigate the marketing of nicotine and tobacco products to young audiences.