Four hundred and sixty brands of e-cigarettes and counting: implications for product regulation
نویسندگان
چکیده
INTRODUCTION E-cigarettes are largely unregulated and internet sales are substantial. This study examines how the online market for e-cigarettes has changed over time: in product design and in marketing messages appearing on websites. METHODS Comprehensive internet searches of English-language websites from May-August 2012 and December 2013-January 2014 identified brands, models, flavours, nicotine strengths, ingredients and product claims. Brands were divided into older and newer groups (by the two searches) for comparison. RESULTS By January 2014 there were 466 brands (each with its own website) and 7764 unique flavours. In the 17 months between the searches, there was a net increase of 10.5 brands and 242 new flavours per month. Older brands were more likely than newer brands to offer cigalikes (86.9% vs. 52.1%, p<0.01), and newer brands more likely to offer the more versatile eGos and mods (75.3% vs. 57.8%, p<0.01). Older brands were significantly more likely to claim that they were healthier and cheaper than cigarettes, were good substitutes where smoking was banned and were effective smoking cessation aids. Newer brands offered more flavours per brand (49 vs. 32, p<0.01) and were less likely to compare themselves with conventional cigarettes. CONCLUSIONS The number of e-cigarette brands is large and has been increasing. Older brands tend to highlight their advantages over conventional cigarettes while newer brands emphasise consumer choice in multiple flavours and product versatility. These results can serve as a benchmark for future research on the impact of upcoming regulations on product design and advertising messages of e-cigarettes.
منابع مشابه
Nicotine Content of Domestic Cigarettes, Imported Cigarettes and Pipe Tobacco in Iran
Background: There are many different kinds of cigarettes and tobacco available in the market. Since nicotine content of various brands of cigarettes are very variable, therefore evaluation and comparison of nicotine content of different brands of cigarettes is important. The goal of the present study was to determine and compare nicotine content of various domestic and imported cigarettes avail...
متن کاملCigarette YouTube Videos and Counting: Quantification, Content Evaluation, and Engagement Levels of Videos
Background: The video-sharing website, YouTube, has become an important avenue for product marketing, including tobacco products. It may also serve as an important medium for promoting electronic cigarettes, which have rapidly increased in popularity and are heavily marketed online. While a few studies have examined a limited subset of tobacco-related videos on YouTube, none has explored e-ciga...
متن کامل100 Million Views of Electronic Cigarette YouTube Videos and Counting: Quantification, Content Evaluation, and Engagement Levels of Videos.
BACKGROUND The video-sharing website, YouTube, has become an important avenue for product marketing, including tobacco products. It may also serve as an important medium for promoting electronic cigarettes, which have rapidly increased in popularity and are heavily marketed online. While a few studies have examined a limited subset of tobacco-related videos on YouTube, none has explored e-cigar...
متن کاملInvestigation of Toxic Metals in the Tobacco of Different Iranian Cigarette Brands and Related Health Issues
Objective(s) The primary objective of this study was to determine whether local and imported cigarette brands used in Iran, have elevated levels of metals or not. The produced data of cigarette brands are compared both with each other and with the existing brands in different countries. Materials and Methods In present study, nineteen various cigarettes brands were randomly purchased from th...
متن کاملNicotine content of electronic cigarettes, its release in vapour and its consistency across batches: regulatory implications.
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Electronic cigarettes (EC) may have a potential for public health benefit as a safer alternative to smoking, but questions have been raised about whether EC should be licensed as a medicine, with accurate labelling of nicotine content. This study determined the nicotine content of the cartridges of the most popular EC brands in the United Kingdom and the nicotine levels they...
متن کامل