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#FlavorsSaveLives: An Analysis of Twitter Posts Opposing Flavored E-cigarette Bans.


ABSTRACT:

Background

Starting in 2019 policies restricting the availability of flavored e-cigarette products were proposed or implemented in the United States to curb vaping by youth. People took to Twitter to voice their opposition, referencing the phrase "Flavors Save Lives." This study documented the emerging themes pertaining to "Flavors Saves Lives" over a 12-month period.

Methods

The study period was from May 1, 2019, to May 1, 2020. A stratified sampling procedure supplied 2500 tweets for analysis. Posts were classified by one or more of the following themes: (1) Political Referendum; (2) Institutional Distrust; (3) Individual Rights; (4) Misinformation; (5) THC Vaping is the Real Problem; (6) Smoking Cessation; (7) Adult Use; and (8) Not a Bot. The temporal pattern of tweets over the year was examined.

Results

Political Referendum (76.5%) and Institutional Distrust (31.3%) were the most prominent themes, followed by Not a Bot (11.0%), Individual Rights (10.4%), Adult Use (8.0%), Smoking Cessation (6.6%), Misinformation (5.9%), and THC Vaping is the Real Problem (3.5%). Total tweet frequencies increased in September 2019 and peaked in November 2019 before returning to relatively low numbers. Political Referendum and Institutional Distrust were consistently the most prevalent themes over time.

Conclusion

Twitter posts with the phrase "Flavors Save Lives" commonly discussed voting against political incumbents and mentioned distrust of government representatives. Findings demonstrated the possibility of near real-time Twitter monitoring of public opposition to flavor bans. These data may be valuable for designing tobacco control information campaigns in the future.

Implications

(a) Starting in 2019 policies restricting the availability of flavored e-cigarette products were proposed or implemented in the United States to curb vaping by youth. (b) This study content analyzed Twitter posts with the phrase "Flavors Save Lives" from a 12-month period to understand opposition to flavor restrictions. (c) Twitter posts commonly discussed voting against political incumbents and mentioned distrust of government representatives. (d) Findings demonstrated the possibility of near real-time Twitter monitoring of public opposition to flavor bans, and contribute to a more comprehensive assessment of different sub-population's responses to current and proposed tobacco control information policies.

SUBMITTER: Kirkpatrick MG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8517966 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

#FlavorsSaveLives: An Analysis of Twitter Posts Opposing Flavored E-cigarette Bans.

Kirkpatrick Matthew G MG   Dormanesh Allison A   Rivera Vanessa V   Majmundar Anuja A   Soto Daniel W DW   Chen-Sankey Julia Cen JC   Cruz Tess Boley TB   Unger Jennifer B JB   Allem Jon-Patrick JP  

Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco 20210801 8


<h4>Background</h4>Starting in 2019 policies restricting the availability of flavored e-cigarette products were proposed or implemented in the United States to curb vaping by youth. People took to Twitter to voice their opposition, referencing the phrase "Flavors Save Lives." This study documented the emerging themes pertaining to "Flavors Saves Lives" over a 12-month period.<h4>Methods</h4>The study period was from May 1, 2019, to May 1, 2020. A stratified sampling procedure supplied 2500 tweet  ...[more]

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