Social Media Mentions of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) Battery-Related Overheating, Fires, and Explosions: Findings from a Pilot Study

Serious injuries may result from electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) battery malfunctions, including overheating, fires, and explosions (O/F/E). This pilot study assessed the usefulness of social media monitoring as a tool for gathering information surrounding ENDS battery O/F/E, including changes in the volume and nature of social media mentions over time. Brandwatch, a social media monitoring tool, was queried to examine ENDS battery-related O/F/E over a one-month period, annually, from 2013–2017. Two researchers qualitatively coded the social media mentions for relevance and coded the relevant mentions by event type and theme. The total number of mentions coded as relevant (n = 947) for the one-month period increased each year. Mentions of first-person events were relatively infrequent (3.6% of relevant mentions), while mentions describing events that happened to someone else increased over time (60.4% of relevant mentions). A relatively small proportion of mentions expressed concern around a potential event and advice on how to prevent future events (4.8% and 10.5% of relevant mentions, respectively). Findings suggest that social media mentions around ENDS battery O/F/E events have increased over recent years. Social media monitoring can complement traditional surveillance systems to elucidate the extent to which ENDS O/F/E events are occurring.