People watching e-cigarette ads featuring cartoons are more likely to start smoking

Category: Health

published by Syed Qayam Ali

Published on: June 16, 2019, 4:53 pm IST Update: June 16, 2019, 4:53 pm IST

Washington: New study reveals that e-cigarette and e-liquid commercials featuring cartoons are attracting more young people to nicotine-based products.

The study published in the newspaper "Drug and Alcohol Dependence" also revealed that the recognition of cartoons images in those who had never used electronic cigarettes was positively badociated with people who hoped that the product would taste good and promote socialization.

"Among young adults who had never used electronic cigarettes, we found a significant effect of cartel-based marketing on their likelihood of using the products in the future," he said. Jon-Patrick Allem, co-head of the study.

"Cartoons seem to be very effective at increasing the susceptibility to using electronic cigarettes in people who do not use them, to begin with," Allen added.

Researchers looked at two different groups of young adults who responded to online surveys on the use of e-cigarettes.

For the first study, 778 participants aged 24 years on average looked at several images of liquid packaging containing or not cartoons and wondered if they had recognized the products.

In the second study, an average of 522 participants, aged 30, examined several images of liquid with or without cartoons and badessed the attractiveness of the products.

Among those who stated that they had never used the product before, they were more likely to be used later.

"The comic images used by some companies are part of the constellation of variables that make individuals likely to later use electronic cigarettes," said Matt Kirkpatrick, co-head of the study.

"The data from this most recent study suggests the need for policies to extend the restrictions on comic book marketing to include the marketing of electronic cigarettes," Allen said.

Source: ANI