Exposure to e-cigarette content on social media and e-cigarette use: An ecological momentary assessment study

This pilot ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study tested the associations between exposure to anti-e-cigarette content on social media and e-cigarette use behavior. For exposure to anti-e-cigarette posts, participants were asked to follow the study account on Instagram, on which anti-e-cigarette content were posted regularly. In addition, we assessed participants’ exposure to pro-e-cigarette content in their daily lives and examined the effects of such exposure on behavior. Participants were 29 diverse young adult current e-cigarette users (18–30 year olds; 54% women), who provided data 3 times daily, for 3 weeks via a mobile phone based EMA application. Relative to no exposure, exposure to anti-e-cigarette content was associated with decreased recent e-cigarette use frequency at the next assessment time-point (p < 0.05; 2-tailed). In addition, a statistically significant concurrent association was found between exposure to pro-e-cigarette content (relative to no exposure) and higher e-cigarette use (p < 0.05; 2-tailed). The current data are some of the first to show that exposure to anti-e-cigarette content on social media may have real time effects on decreased e-cigarette use among young adults as they go about their daily lives. Policies and efforts designed to regulate pro-e-cigarette and promote anti-e-cigarette content on social media may help reduce e-cigarette use among young people.