Vital signs: Exposure to Electronic Cigarette Advertisements among Middle and High School Students—United States, 2014

January 5, 2016 / Vol. 64 / Early Release

MMWR Introduction

CDC analyzed data from the 2014 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) to assess exposure to e-cigarette advertisements among US middle and high school students from four sources: retail stores (convenience stores, supermarkets, or gas stations); Internet; TV and movies; and newspapers and magazines. The findings indicate that among all students, 68.9% (18.3 million students) were exposed to e-cigarette advertisements from ≥1 source. By source, exposure was as follows: retail stores (54.8%, 14.4 million); Internet (39.8%, 10.5 million); TV/movies (36.5%, 9.6 million); and newspapers/magazines (30.4%, 8.0 million). Exposure to e-cigarette advertisements on the Internet and newspapers/magazines was higher among females than males. Exposure in retail stores was higher among non-Hispanic whites than non-Hispanic blacks and students of non-Hispanic other races/ethnicities. Exposure on TV/movies was higher among non-Hispanic blacks and Hispanics than non-Hispanic whites. In general, exposure increased with increasing grade for all sources. Exposure by number of sources was 1 source (22.1%, 5.8 million); 2 sources (17.2%, 4.5 million); 3 sources (14.1%, 3.7 million); and 4 sources (15.4%, 4.1 million).

Advertising for conventional tobacco products, such as cigarettes, has been shown to prompt experimentation as well as increase and maintain tobacco product use among young people. This article highlights youth exposure to e-cigarette advertisements, which may be contributing, in part, to increasing experimentation with and use of e-cigarettes among young people in recent years. Multiple approaches are warranted to reduce youth exposure to e-cigarette advertisements, including efforts to reduce youth access to the settings where tobacco products such as e-cigarettes are sold, and regulation of youth-oriented e-cigarette marketing. The implementation of these approaches—in coordination with fully funded and sustained comprehensive state tobacco control programs—has the potential to reduce all forms of tobacco use among youth, including e-cigarettes.