Vape, quit, tweet? Electronic cigarettes and smoking cessation on Twitter

van der Tempel, Jan; Noormohamed, Aliya; Schwartz, Robert; Norman, Cameron; Malas, Muhannad; Zawertailo, Laurie

doi:10.1007/s00038-016-0791-2

Original Article
Published: 03 February 2016

Vape, quit, tweet? Electronic cigarettes and smoking cessation on Twitter

Jan van der Tempel MPhil ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7394-5836^1,2,
Aliya Noormohamed MSPH^1,2,
Robert Schwartz PhD^1,2,
Cameron Norman PhD¹,
Muhannad Malas MPH¹ &
Laurie Zawertailo PhD²

International Journal of Public Health volume 61, pages 249–256 (2016)Cite this article

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Abstract

Objectives

Individuals seeking information about electronic cigarettes are increasingly turning to social media networks like Twitter. We surveyed dominant Twitter communications about e-cigarettes and smoking cessation, examining message sources, themes, and attitudes.

Methods

Tweets from 2014 were searched for mentions of e-cigarettes and smoking cessation. A purposive sample was subjected to mixed-methods analysis.

Results

Twitter communication about e-cigarettes increased fivefold since 2012. In a sample of 300 tweets from high-authority users, attitudes about e-cigarettes as smoking cessation aids were favorable across user types (industry, press, public figures, fake accounts, and personal users), except for public health professionals, who lacked consensus and contributed negligibly to the conversation. The most prevalent message themes were marketing, news, and first-person experiences with e-cigarettes as smoking cessation aids. We identified several industry strategies to reach Twitter users.

Conclusions

Our findings show that Twitter users are overwhelmingly exposed to messages that favor e-cigarettes as smoking cessation aids, even when disregarding commercial activity. This underlines the need for effective public health engagement with social media to provide reliable information about e-cigarettes and smoking cessation online.

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Acknowledgements

JT, RS, CN, AN, and LZ designed the study. JT conducted data collection and data analysis, and AN assisted with intercoder reliability testing. JT prepared the manuscript draft with important intellectual input from RS and editorial assistance from CN, AN, and MM. All authors approved the final manuscript. The Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care's Health System Research Fund provided funding for the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Toronto, Canada
Jan van der Tempel MPhil, Aliya Noormohamed MSPH, Robert Schwartz PhD, Cameron Norman PhD & Muhannad Malas MPH
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada
Jan van der Tempel MPhil, Aliya Noormohamed MSPH, Robert Schwartz PhD & Laurie Zawertailo PhD

Authors

Jan van der Tempel MPhil
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Aliya Noormohamed MSPH
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Robert Schwartz PhD
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Cameron Norman PhD
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Muhannad Malas MPH
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Laurie Zawertailo PhD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jan van der Tempel MPhil.

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This article is part of the special issue “Electronic Cigarettes and Public Health”.

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van der Tempel, J., Noormohamed, A., Schwartz, R. et al. Vape, quit, tweet? Electronic cigarettes and smoking cessation on Twitter. Int J Public Health 61, 249–256 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-016-0791-2

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Received: 15 May 2015
Revised: 15 January 2016
Accepted: 20 January 2016
Published: 03 February 2016
Issue Date: March 2016
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-016-0791-2

Keywords

Electronic cigarettes
Smoking cessation
Social media
Twitter