TV commercials for electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, are loaded with themes of freedom, independence, and no small amount of sex appeal. Now a study has found that more kids than ever are seeing those ads, which increasingly appear on channels and shows targeted to the youth demographic.
In the study, published today in the journal Pediatrics, researchers analyzed Nielsen data on household TV exposure to e-cigarette ads between 2011 and 2013. They used ratings and target audience data to calculate cumulative exposure time to e-cigarette ads in two age groups: 12-to-17 year olds (youth) and 18-to-24 year olds (young adults).
They found that youth exposure to TV e-cigarette ads increased 256 percent from 2011 to 2013, while young adult exposure increased 321 percent. More than 76 percent of youth e-cigarette advertising exposure occurred on cable networks, including AMC, Country Music Television, Comedy Central, TV Land, and VH1.
And at least 80 percent of exposure among youth and young adults was driven by ads for one brand: Blu e-Cigs, which has featured the actors Jenny McCarthy and Stephen Dorff in its commercials.
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The new findings may be especially important because previous research has suggested that e-cigarettes could serve as a gateway to cigarette smoking among teens. In a commentary accompanying the article, two pediatricians at the Children's Hospital in Philadelphia emphasized the need for regulations to govern the marketing and availability to minors of the devices, which contain nicotine—a highly addictive chemical—and may harbor other potentially harmful substances.
Currently there is no federal oversight of the devices, which are sold in stores and online and come in flavors ranging from "plain tobacco" to bubble gum and peach Schnapps. Proposed rules by the Food and Drug Administration that would allow the agency to regulate e-cigarettes as tobacco products is currently open for public comment. (You can read and comment on the proposed rules, plus view the literally thousands that have already been made—many by e-cigarette manufacturers and marketers—on the FDA website.)
Read more about e-cigs in our Guide To E-Cigarettes.
—Jamie Kopf
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