- Young people addicted to social media are more likely to vape and smoke
- ‘Compelling evidence’ that vaping companies use online influencers to market to children
Children who spend a lot of time on Instagram and TikTok are more likely to vape and smoke cigarettes, according to a new study.
Experts have found that the more time young people spend on social media, the more likely they are to pick up these habits.
This was particularly evident at higher levels of use, as those who spend more than seven hours a day on social media are almost four times more likely to vape than non-users, and eight times more likely to smoke.
The study, published in the journal Thorax, included data from 10,808 people aged 10 to 25 in the United Kingdom.
The analysis revealed that 0.8 percent of those who did not use social networks vaped, a figure that increases to 2.4 percent among those who use them one to three hours a day.
Researchers found that young people who spend a lot of time on social media are more likely to start vaping and smoking
Vaping companies are using social media sites like TikTok and YouTube to market addictive vaporizers to children.
This increased to 3.8 percent for those who use social media four to six hours a day and 4 percent for those who use social media for more than seven hours a day.
Meanwhile, when it came to smoking, 2 percent of those who said they did not use social media reported currently smoking cigarettes, compared to 9.2 percent who used social media between one and three hours a day. day.
This figure increased to 12.2 percent of smokers who used social media four to six hours a day and 15.7 percent of those who spent seven or more hours a day on weekdays on it.
The researchers, including those from the School of Public Health at Imperial College London, said there was “compelling evidence that vaping companies are using social media to market their products”.
They added: “Social media may be driving smoking and e-cigarette use through direct, targeted advertising and the tobacco industry’s use of paid influencers.”
The researchers said companies that own social media platforms have “substantial power” to modify exposure to material that promotes smoking and vaping if they choose or are forced to do so.
This comes after research earlier this week showed that children’s exposure to vape marketing is at an all-time high, with young people overwhelmingly opting for fruit and dessert flavored vapes.
Results from Action on Smoking and Health’s (Ash) annual survey found that children in Britain are increasingly aware of vaping marketing, including in shops and through social media sites such as TikTok and YouTube.
The 2024 survey of 2,587 children ages 11 to 17 found that 7.6 percent currently vape, the same proportion as last year, but up from 2.8 percent in 2017 and 0.8 percent in 2013.
Hazel Cheeseman, deputy chief executive of Ash, said of the new study: ‘Getting rid of children’s exposure to tobacco promotion has been important in reducing smoking rates among teenagers.
‘This new study adds to evidence that online promotions are contributing to the likelihood of children trying vaping.
“Young people deserve to be as well protected in online spaces as they are in physical spaces and the government needs to look at what can be done to ensure this.”