Youth generated prevention messages about electronic cigarettes

Introduction:
This article reports the findings of a study that aimed to identify message themes about e-cigarettes that youth would use to encourage or discourage peers from using e-cigarettes. The study conducted focus groups with non-smokers and smokers from one middle school, high school and college in Connecticut. Participants discussed e-cigarettes and created written messages to encourage or discourage use among peers. The messages were content-analyzed and coded into themes.

Key Points:

* The study identified three main themes and 12 encouraging and 12 discouraging sub-themes.
* Encouraging themes included health benefits of e-cigarettes relative to cigarettes, attractive product characteristics (e.g. flavors), and social advantages (e.g. positive social image) of using e-cigarettes.
* Discouraging messages included health risks of e-cigarettes relative to cigarettes, unattractive product characteristics (e.g. cost), and social disadvantages (e.g. negative social image of using an e-cigarette).
* There were no differences in the generation of encouraging and discouraging message themes by sex, age group, or smoking status.
* The study provides insights into the qualities associated with e-cigarettes that both encourage and discourage use in youth.
* The findings could aid tobacco prevention efforts by providing insight into how to effectively communicate messages about e-cigarettes to youth to prevent potential nicotine uptake and eventual addiction.
* Themes identified in this study could assist in the regulation of e-cigarette marketing content.
* Future research is needed to discern whether these themes are salient to a broader population of youth and if they change perceptions, beliefs, or attitudes.

Main Message:
The study identifies youth-generated themes that may aid in e-cigarette prevention among youth. The findings provide insights into the qualities associated with e-cigarettes that both encourage and discourage use in youth. The study highlights the importance of developing effective e-cigarette prevention efforts that are tailored and targeted to youth. The regulation of e-cigarette marketing content could benefit from considering these themes, as they could assist in preventing potential nicotine uptake and eventual addiction among youth. Future research is necessary to determine the salience of these themes to a broader population of youth and their impact on perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes.

Cavallo, Dana A, Grace Kong, Daniel M Ells, Deepa R Camenga, Meghan E Morean, and Suchitra Krishnan-Sarin. “Youth Generated Prevention Messages about Electronic Cigarettes.” Health Education Research 34, no. 2 (April 1, 2019): 247–56. https://doi.org/10.1093/her/cyz001.