Exposure to Electronic Cigarette Advertising Among Middle and High School Students — United States, 2014–2016

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March 16, 2018 / Vol. 67 / No. 10

 

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MMWR Introduction

To assess patterns of self-reported exposure to e-cigarette advertising from four sources (retail stores, the Internet, television, newspapers, and magazines), CDC analyzed data from the 2014, 2015, and 2016 National Youth Tobacco Surveys (NYTS).

Given the Surgeon General has established that a causal relationship exists between traditional tobacco advertising and youth tobacco product initiation, and given the association between e-cigarette advertising exposure and e-cigarette use among youths, efforts to reduce youth e-cigarette advertising exposure are a critical component of comprehensive youth tobacco prevention efforts. These efforts could include regulation of youth-oriented marketing, restrictions on youth access to tobacco product retailers, and high-impact tobacco education campaigns. These approaches, coupled with well-funded, comprehensive state tobacco control programs, have the potential to prevent and reduce youth use of all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes.

MMWR Highlights

Electronic cigarette advertisement exposure among all students (middle and high school), 2014–2016

  • In 2016, nearly 4 in 5 (20.5 million) US middle and high school students were exposed to e-cigarette advertisements from at least one source, a 12% increase over 2014.
  • Youth exposure to e-cigarette advertising from at least one source increased each year during 2014–2016 (2014: 68.9%, 18.3 million; 2015: 73.0%, 19.2 million; 2016: 78.2%, 20.5 million).
  • During 2014–2016, youth exposure to e-cigarette advertising increased for retail stores (54.8% to 68.0%); decreased for newspapers and magazines (30.4% to 23.9%), and did not significantly change for Internet or TV.
  • In 2016, exposure to advertising from any source was more common among females than males, non-Hispanic whites than Hispanics and students of other non-Hispanic races/ethnicities for 8th, 10th, 11th, and 12th graders than 6th graders, high school students than middle school students, current e-cigarette users than nonusers, and current users of other tobacco products than nonusers.

Electronic cigarette advertisement exposure among all students (middle and high school), by sources of exposure, 2016

  • Any source: 78.2%.
  • Retail stores: 68.0%.
  • Internet: 40.6%.
  • TV/movies: 37.7%.
  • Magazines/newspapers: 23.9%.

Electronic cigarette advertisement exposure among middle school students, by sources of exposure, 2016

  • Any source: 76.9%.
  • Retail stores: 65.6%.
  • Internet: 39.5%.
  • TV/movies: 36.0%.
  • Magazines/newspapers: 20.1%.

Electronic cigarette advertisement exposure among high school students, by sources of exposure, 2016

  • Any source: 79.2%
  • Retail stores: 70.0%.
  • Internet: 41.6%.
  • TV/movies: 39.0%.
  • Magazines/newspapers: 26.9%.

 

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