E-cigarette Marketing Expenditures in the U.S. from 2016-2021: Targeted Media Outlets Geared Toward
Thursday, September 15, 2022
Posted by: Natalia Gromov
Ozga
JE, Stroup AM, Abadi MH, et al.
E-cigarette Marketing
Expenditures in the U.S. from 2016-2021: Targeted Media Outlets Geared Toward
People who are at Increased Risk for Tobacco Use.
[published online ahead of print, 2022 Sep 7]. Nicotine Tob Res.
2022;ntac209. doi:10.1093/ntr/ntac209
Introduction. E-cigarette
advertising exposure is linked to e-cigarette initiation and use. Thus,
monitoring trends in e-cigarette advertising practices is important to
understand e-cigarette use patterns observed over recent years.
Methods. E-cigarette
advertising expenditures (January 2016-July 2021; Numerator Ad Intel) for 154
U.S. market areas were harmonized with U.S. Census sociodemographic data
through Nielsen market area/zip code designations. Descriptive statistics and
multivariable linear regressions were used to examine trends in e-cigarette
advertising expenditures across media outlets and associations between
sociodemographic characteristics and e-cigarette advertising over time.
Results. E-cigarette
advertising expenditures peaked in 2018/2019, followed by a sharp decline in
2020. Expenditures were concentrated primarily on print (58.9%), TV (20.6%) and
radio (14.4%). Major print outlets were Sports Illustrated, Rolling Stone, and
Star magazines. Top TV channels were AMC, Investigation Discovery, and TBS. TV
advertisements were purchased commonly during popular movies/series (e.g., King
of Queens, Everybody Loves Raymond, The Walking Dead). Higher expenditures were
associated with U.S. market areas that had (a) a larger percentage of non-rural
zip codes (radio), (b) smaller male populations (radio), and (c) larger
White/Caucasian, Black/African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian,
and Other/Multiracial populations (radio, print, online display, online video).
Conclusions. E-cigarette
companies advertised in print magazines geared toward males and youth/young
adults, radio commercials focused in urban areas with smaller male populations,
and nationwide TV commercials. Declines in e-cigarette advertising expenditures
in 2020 demonstrate the potential impact that federal policies may have on
protecting populations who are at higher risk for tobacco use from predatory
advertising practices.
Implications. E-cigarette
advertising exposure is associated with initiation and use of e-cigarettes.
This study shows how e-cigarette marketing expenditures in the U.S. may have
targeted specific consumers (e.g., youth/young adults) between 2016 and 2021.
The precipitous drop in advertising expenditures across all outlets during
early 2020 corresponds with the implementation of the Tobacco 21 federal
policy, the federal enforcement policy to remove most unauthorized flavored
e-cigarette cartridges from the U.S. market, preparations for FDA's premarket
review of e-cigarette products, and the decision by several TV broadcast
companies to stop showing e-cigarette ads. The potential impact of federal
policies may have far-reaching implications for protecting populations who are
at high risk for tobacco use and its health consequences.
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