Vaporized: Majority of youth exposed to e-cigarette advertising

More than eight of 10 youth and young adults saw e-cigarette advertising in 2015, according to Vaporized: Youth and Young Adult Exposure to E-Cigarette Marketing, a new report from Truth Initiative. The paper, which updates a 2014 analysis by the public health organization, also highlights that e-cigarette advertising expenditures increased significantly -- by 52 percent -- from 2013-2014, reaching $115.3 million in 2014.

Awareness of e-cigarette advertisements remains highest in retail establishments (convenience stores, supermarkets, or gas stations), followed by on television and online.  Television was the second biggest source of e-cigarette advertising with approximately 50 percent of youth reporting seeing an ad, suggesting advertisers may be purposefully reaching this audience. Traditional cigarette advertising has not been permitted on television since 1971.

This research is set against a backdrop of increasing youth e-cigarette use. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been large increases in e-cigarette use among youth from 2011 to 2014, and a Monitoring the Future survey funded by the National Institute of Drug Abuse reported in 2014 that past 30-day e-cigarette use was higher for 8th, 10th and 12th graders than past 30-day cigarette use.

The Food and Drug Administration currently regulates cigarettes, cigarette tobacco, roll-your-own tobacco, and smokeless tobacco products. The agency also has the ability to regulate additional tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, and appears to be close to asserting jurisdiction over them through what is known as the deeming rule. Until then, e-cigarettes are not subject to any federal standards for quality or safety and there are no marketing restrictions.