Study links television images of smoking to higher risk of vaping
When young viewers see smoking on television, it can increase the likelihood they will try e-cigarettes, according to a first-of-its-kind study, part of a new report on tobacco and smoking imagery on TV.
The study, published in the scholarly journal Preventive Medicine and referenced in the third annual report on TV and smoking by public health group Truth Initiative, says young viewers with the highest exposure to TV tobacco depictions can be three times as likely to start vaping as those without such exposure.
It did not find a significant connection between viewing and traditional smoking, but it suggests that may be due statistically to low smoking rates among young people, for whom vaping is their primary choice of nicotine.
Truth Initiative’s “Straight to Vape,” obtained exclusively by USA TODAY, also finds tobacco and smoking depictions in the most popular shows for young people appear to be rising since the group’s first While You Were Streaming reports in 2018 and 2019. Nearly three-quarters of studied shows popular with young people feature tobacco or smoking images.
Netflix’s “Stranger Things,” the 1980s period horror drama, recorded 721 tobacco-related incidents in last year’s Season 3, the most of any show included in the report and about four times the number of images recorded in its first season in 2016.
The streaming service last year adopted a tobacco-free policy for new shows aimed at younger audiences (14 or younger), but the new edict doesn’t apply to current series and includes exceptions for “creative vision” and historical accuracy.
The report also singles out first-season HBO teen drama “Euphoria” for the most e-cigarette depictions (67) in shows studied in 2018 and 2019.
Concerns about tobacco images and their behavioral effects are magnified amid the coronavirus pandemic as young people have had more time to binge shows, Truth Initiative president and CEO Robin Koval says. The report also cites new research that finds people who vape are five times more likely to be diagnosed with COVID-19.
The latest While You Were Streaming report includes data from a study of 4,604 young viewers, ages 15 to 24, published in Preventive Medicine that finds a link between TV smoking depictions and e-cigarette use. Such behavior may start at an earlier age, too.
E-cigarettes, which generally contain nicotine and are considered especially unsafe for children, teens and young adults by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are the dominant form of nicotine use among young people. (The CDC says e-cigarettes can benefit smokers who use them as a substitute for regular cigarettes.)
The report says usage among high school students rose from 11.7% in 2017 to 27.5% in 2019, compared with traditional cigarette smoking levels that dropped from 23% in 2000 to 5.4% in 2017, according to a study sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
The 2020 While You Were Streaming report, which continues the practice of tracking the 15 most popular shows with youths and young adults based on ratings, social media mentions and the preferences of those surveyed, finds traditional smoking, from a character puffing on a cigarette to a power wall of convenience-store brands, remains the dominant depiction, but vaping images are on the rise.
Overall, a review of 277 episodes from 15 shows released in 2018 found 576 tobacco/smoking incidents. In 152 episodes studied from 2019’s top 15, researchers counted 1,156 incidents.
In a statement, Altria, which owns Philip Morris USA (Marlboro, Virginia Slims), said that “we do not want our brands depicted in movies, television shows” or other entertainment media. Juul said in a statement that its e-cigarette products are “intended solely for adult smokers as an alternative to combustible cigarettes.”