Puff Bars, Tobacco Policy Evasion, and Nicotine Dependence: Content Analysis of Tweets
BackgroundPuff Bars are e-cigarettes that continued marketing flavored products by exploiting the US Food and Drug Administration exemption for disposable devices. ObjectiveThis study aimed to examine discussions related to Puff Bar on Twitter to identify tobacco...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
JMIR Publications
2022-03-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Medical Internet Research |
| Online Access: | https://www.jmir.org/2022/3/e27894 |
| _version_ | 1827858533915295744 |
|---|---|
| author | Kar-Hai Chu Tina B Hershey Beth L Hoffman Riley Wolynn Jason B Colditz Jaime E Sidani Brian A Primack |
| author_facet | Kar-Hai Chu Tina B Hershey Beth L Hoffman Riley Wolynn Jason B Colditz Jaime E Sidani Brian A Primack |
| author_sort | Kar-Hai Chu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
BackgroundPuff Bars are e-cigarettes that continued marketing flavored products by exploiting the US Food and Drug Administration exemption for disposable devices.
ObjectiveThis study aimed to examine discussions related to Puff Bar on Twitter to identify tobacco regulation and policy themes as well as unanticipated outcomes of regulatory loopholes.
MethodsOf 8519 original tweets related to Puff Bar collected from July 13, 2020, to August 13, 2020, a random 20% subsample (n=2661) was selected for qualitative coding of topics related to nicotine dependence and tobacco policy.
ResultsOf the human-coded tweets, 2123 (80.2%) were coded as relevant to Puff Bar as the main topic. Of those tweets, 698 (32.9%) discussed tobacco policy, including flavors (n=320, 45.9%), regulations (n=124, 17.8%), purchases (n=117, 16.8%), and other products (n=110, 15.8%). Approximately 22% (n=480) of the tweets referenced dependence, including lack of access (n=273, 56.9%), appetite suppression (n=59, 12.3%), frequent use (n=47, 9.8%), and self-reported dependence (n=110, 22.9%).
ConclusionsThis study adds to the growing evidence base that the US Food and Drug Administration ban of e-cigarette flavors did not reduce interest, but rather shifted the discussion to brands utilizing a loophole that allowed flavored products to continue to be sold in disposable devices. Until comprehensive tobacco policy legislation is developed, new products or loopholes will continue to supply nicotine demand. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T12:55:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7914db20fa7a4f88a71d7d7cb89d919e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1438-8871 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T12:55:37Z |
| publishDate | 2022-03-01 |
| publisher | JMIR Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Medical Internet Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-7914db20fa7a4f88a71d7d7cb89d919e2023-08-28T21:09:33ZengJMIR PublicationsJournal of Medical Internet Research1438-88712022-03-01243e2789410.2196/27894Puff Bars, Tobacco Policy Evasion, and Nicotine Dependence: Content Analysis of TweetsKar-Hai Chuhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-2486-8846Tina B Hersheyhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-8600-6168Beth L Hoffmanhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-6576-8748Riley Wolynnhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-4446-9129Jason B Colditzhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-2811-841XJaime E Sidanihttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-5411-8755Brian A Primackhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-5962-0939 BackgroundPuff Bars are e-cigarettes that continued marketing flavored products by exploiting the US Food and Drug Administration exemption for disposable devices. ObjectiveThis study aimed to examine discussions related to Puff Bar on Twitter to identify tobacco regulation and policy themes as well as unanticipated outcomes of regulatory loopholes. MethodsOf 8519 original tweets related to Puff Bar collected from July 13, 2020, to August 13, 2020, a random 20% subsample (n=2661) was selected for qualitative coding of topics related to nicotine dependence and tobacco policy. ResultsOf the human-coded tweets, 2123 (80.2%) were coded as relevant to Puff Bar as the main topic. Of those tweets, 698 (32.9%) discussed tobacco policy, including flavors (n=320, 45.9%), regulations (n=124, 17.8%), purchases (n=117, 16.8%), and other products (n=110, 15.8%). Approximately 22% (n=480) of the tweets referenced dependence, including lack of access (n=273, 56.9%), appetite suppression (n=59, 12.3%), frequent use (n=47, 9.8%), and self-reported dependence (n=110, 22.9%). ConclusionsThis study adds to the growing evidence base that the US Food and Drug Administration ban of e-cigarette flavors did not reduce interest, but rather shifted the discussion to brands utilizing a loophole that allowed flavored products to continue to be sold in disposable devices. Until comprehensive tobacco policy legislation is developed, new products or loopholes will continue to supply nicotine demand.https://www.jmir.org/2022/3/e27894 |
| spellingShingle | Kar-Hai Chu Tina B Hershey Beth L Hoffman Riley Wolynn Jason B Colditz Jaime E Sidani Brian A Primack Puff Bars, Tobacco Policy Evasion, and Nicotine Dependence: Content Analysis of Tweets Journal of Medical Internet Research |
| title | Puff Bars, Tobacco Policy Evasion, and Nicotine Dependence: Content Analysis of Tweets |
| title_full | Puff Bars, Tobacco Policy Evasion, and Nicotine Dependence: Content Analysis of Tweets |
| title_fullStr | Puff Bars, Tobacco Policy Evasion, and Nicotine Dependence: Content Analysis of Tweets |
| title_full_unstemmed | Puff Bars, Tobacco Policy Evasion, and Nicotine Dependence: Content Analysis of Tweets |
| title_short | Puff Bars, Tobacco Policy Evasion, and Nicotine Dependence: Content Analysis of Tweets |
| title_sort | puff bars tobacco policy evasion and nicotine dependence content analysis of tweets |
| url | https://www.jmir.org/2022/3/e27894 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT karhaichu puffbarstobaccopolicyevasionandnicotinedependencecontentanalysisoftweets AT tinabhershey puffbarstobaccopolicyevasionandnicotinedependencecontentanalysisoftweets AT bethlhoffman puffbarstobaccopolicyevasionandnicotinedependencecontentanalysisoftweets AT rileywolynn puffbarstobaccopolicyevasionandnicotinedependencecontentanalysisoftweets AT jasonbcolditz puffbarstobaccopolicyevasionandnicotinedependencecontentanalysisoftweets AT jaimeesidani puffbarstobaccopolicyevasionandnicotinedependencecontentanalysisoftweets AT brianaprimack puffbarstobaccopolicyevasionandnicotinedependencecontentanalysisoftweets |