ONE ON ONE: USC professor explains dangers of vaping advertisements

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — Does watching or seeing an advertisement make you more likely to try that product?

One USC professor studied to see if exposure to e-cigarette and vaping ads makes young adults more susceptible to starting use of these products themselves.

“The tobacco industry has been using this kind of marketing strategy very successfully to target young people,” said University of South Carolina professor Dr. Minji Kim. 

Dr. Kim studied thousands of young adults to see if exposure to e-cigarette and vaping ads made them more likely to pick them up. 

“Those who had seen the lifestyle advertisements showed more favorable attitudes to those advertisements promoting e-cigarettes and vapes,” she said. “This was found among those 18 to 29 years old. This effect was more pronounced among those who were not using tobacco products.” 

According to a CDC study, 1 in 10 young adults are regular users of e-cigarettes or vaping products.

Kim suggests marketing regulations to keep such products from being advertised to young people.

“One of the most obvious things would be restricting marketing in channels where low-risk young people will see such as social media or other channels,” the USC professor said.

Not just young adults are vaping. A DHEC study in South Carolina found that almost a quarter of high school students reported use of a tobacco product.

Kim says that while vaping might be seen as safer than cigarettes, the products have still been known to cause lung injuries and death.

“We have seen the crisis related to the e-cigarette and vape related lung injury EVALI,” Kim said. “It happened right before COVID and was not expected. It was affecting young people who used e-cigarettes and vaping products.”

According to the CDC, 7 out of 10 middle and high school students report having seen an e-cigarette or vape advertisement.