E-Cigarette Retailers’ Use of Instagram in New Zealand: A Content Analysis

ABSTRACT: E-cigarette companies claim their products are key to improving health outcomes by providing smokers with lower-risk alternatives. However, the rapid uptake of e-cigarettes among young people has prompted concern about company marketing practices. In 2019, there was no legislation to govern e-cigarette marketing in New Zealand. This period provides an ideal context for examining how e-cigarette companies promoted their products before the introduction of marketing regulations. We conducted a content analysis of the Instagram accounts of five prominent e-cigarette retailers based in New Zealand during 2019–2020. We assessed health- and risk-related claims and marketing techniques. Less than 10% of Instagram posts refer to smoking alternatives or risk of nicotine addiction. E-cigarette devic

SUBMITTER: Hardie L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9914635 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature