Advertisements for electronic cigarettes can drive smokers to smoke more and tempt ex-smokers to hit the tobacco habit again, a new study concludes.
Researchers studied 884 current and former smokers as they viewed television ads featuring e-cigarettes. Of these participants, 311 were former smokers, 272 smoked occasionally, and 301 consumed tobacco on a daily basis.
A baseline assessment was taken, recording the initial urge to smoke among the participants. Then e-cigarette commercials were shown to the subjects. Some showed people participating in vaping, some e-cigarette ads did not show the process, and a control group simply answered questions about media.
Researchers found that those who saw vaping were significantly more likely to crave a cigarette during secondary questioning, and were slightly more likely to smoke during the experiment. Former smokers who saw vaping take place in the ads reported lower willingness to stay tobacco-free than those in the other two advertisement groups.
However, there was almost no difference at all between the group that witnessed e-cigarette ads where consumption was not taking place and the control group that did not view any ads. This suggests that viewing people taking part in smoking e-cigarettes was driving the desire to smoke, even among people who had given up the habit.
E-cigarettes are often cited as a means for traditional tobacco users to begin to quit the habit. However, many healthcare professionals are warning their patients and the public of the dangers of vaping.
"If it turns out to be the case that e-cigarettes are a good vehicle for reducing tobacco addiction, then we not want to stand in the way of advertising... but it doesn't mean we couldn't carry out that advertising without the vaping cues in order to not have these deleterious consequences," Joseph Cappella, a communication professor who took part in the study, said.
Sales of electronic cigarettes passed one billion dollars a year for the first time in 2013. The devices produce a nicotine vapor, rather than burning tobacco. This provides a dose of the drug to users, while providing the action of smoking for users. Many states allow the sale of e-cigarettes to minors, and the Food and Drug Administration is developing the first federal laws to regulate the devices.
The results of this new study suggest advertisements showing people vaping could increase tobacco use among both current and former smokers, potentially adding to national healthcare costs.
Analysis of the role of advertising of electronic cigarettes on traditional tobacco use was published by the Annenberg School of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania.
Photo: Lauri Rantala | Flickr
