The vape marketing strategies have been recently researched at the Institute for Therapy and Health Research in Germany. The findings showed that most teens take up tobacco after seeing e-cig adverts. This is valid despite the fact that there is no significant increase in the number of young smokers.
One shameful and ludicrous paper was produced by Julian Hansen, Matthis Morgenstern, and Reiner Hanewinkel. It is titled “Electronic cigarette marketing and smoking behavior in adolescence: a cross-sectional study”
“This work was done due to the recommendation by the World Health Organization to sponsor the Tobacco-Control Framework Convention and ban tobacco advertising promotion and sponsorship”-explained Hansen. He continued “This is not effective in Germany because they still allow advertisements of tobacco and e-cigarettes on billboards and in cinema after 6pm. Therefore the regulation on advertising e-cigarettes is highly variable despite the ban on tobacco advertising in other areas. We want to know if advertising has an impact on young people”
The research was conducted on almost 7,000 German children, aged 10-18 using anonymous questionnaires. Two-fifth of the children stated that they have seen adverts for vaping products and this made researchers conclude that they are twice as likely to be vapers.
Those children who say they have seen e-cig adverts showed a clear pattern in this large study. They are more likely to have used conventional cigarettes and e-cigarettes. This research showed that the fact that e-cigarettes adverts are reaching these young children is enough to show that they are more likely to use them. The study is not solely depicting cause and effect.”-said Hansen
Translation: There are far more explanations from this research so we are suggesting it anyway. Although we are not saying the research proved cause and effect.
One of the things that triggered our claim is that many e-cigarette makers are using kid-friendly flavors such as cherry, bubble gum, and gummi bear in their products. This study only proves that when kids see e-cigarette adverts, it can lure even adolescents to smoking, even though there are evidences to show that e-cigarettes are harmless.
Translation: Big foods created Fruits to act as a child gateway to broccoli.
Translation: The study made no contribution
There are many growing concerns about the use of e-cigarettes. One of the major concerns is that e-cigarettes can encourage the use of cigarette. They termed it as acting as a ‘gateway’ to cigarette smoking. This is the major reason why youths are being protected from any form of marketing action.
Translation: We do not want to promote the use of nicotine in any form. So it is better we keep the entire population in the dark about harm reduction. That is what our ideology is stressing.
This claim has been previously opposed by the words of Martin Dockrell, tobacco control lead at Public Health England. He said “there is no relationship between vaping and the use of cigarette. Therefore the claim that vaping would increase the number of young people smoking is absolutely wrong. There are many evidence to back my point.”
The lack of attention to Dockrell’s statement by the author caused them to waste a lot of time and money. Had it been they considered the data presented by Dockrell before conducting this study, they could have aborted it and moved to something more meaningful.
However, for a state-approved psychotherapy training Centre that promotes an alternative method for smoking cessation, is that the desired outcome? This is really a food for thought that should be considered by everyone involved in policy making in regards to the ban of vape products and its use by smokers trying to quit smoking,