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E-Cigarette Retailers’ Use of Instagram in New Zealand: A Content Analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Lucy Hardie

    (School of Population Health, University of Auckland, Auckland 1142, New Zealand)

  • Judith McCool

    (School of Population Health, University of Auckland, Auckland 1142, New Zealand)

  • Becky Freeman

    (School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia)

Abstract

E-cigarette companies claim their products are key to improving health outcomes by providing smokers with lower-risk alternatives. However, the rapid uptake of e-cigarettes among young people has prompted concern about company marketing practices. In 2019, there was no legislation to govern e-cigarette marketing in New Zealand. This period provides an ideal context for examining how e-cigarette companies promoted their products before the introduction of marketing regulations. We conducted a content analysis of the Instagram accounts of five prominent e-cigarette retailers based in New Zealand during 2019–2020. We assessed health- and risk-related claims and marketing techniques. Less than 10% of Instagram posts refer to smoking alternatives or risk of nicotine addiction. E-cigarette devices were more likely to be promoted for stylistic features such as colours and ease of use (29.7%). Music festival sponsorship (19.1%), social media influencers (9.2%), and lifestyle marketing (41.5%) were identified as youth-oriented promotional strategies. E-cigarette retailers claim to promote harm-reduction tools to smokers, yet this study finds few references to smoking alternatives in any content. Instead, retailers utilised strategies to engage with a young audience, including festival sponsorship and stylish influencers. This youth-oriented marketing, in combination with weak and delayed government action, may have contributed to the high use of e-cigarettes among young New Zealanders.

Suggested Citation

  • Lucy Hardie & Judith McCool & Becky Freeman, 2023. "E-Cigarette Retailers’ Use of Instagram in New Zealand: A Content Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-12, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:3:p:1897-:d:1041839
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ling, P.M. & Glantz, S.A., 2002. "Why and how the tobacco industry sells cigarettes to young adults: Evidence from industry documents," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 92(6), pages 908-916.
    2. World Health Organization, 2021. "WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic 2021: addressing new and emerging products," University of California at San Francisco, Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education qt0014f8hx, Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, UC San Francisco.
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