Trial reportJournal of medical Internet research2023
Young Adults' Perceptions of and Intentions to Use Nicotine and Cannabis Vaporizers in Response to e-Cigarette or Vaping-Associated Lung Injury Instagram Posts: Experimental Study.
Trial report in Journal of medical Internet research, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 5 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effectiveness of vaping prevention campaign messages on cognitive and behaviorally proximal outcomes among adolescents and young adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Digital Smoking Cessation Preferences of Predominately Low-Income and Latino Residents of the San Joaquin Valley in California: Qualitative Study.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- The Impact of Health Warnings in e-Cigarette Content on Instagram on Adults' e-Cigarette Cognitions: Online Between-Subjects Experiment Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundInhaling aerosolized nicotine and cannabis (colloquially called "vaping") is prevalent among young adults. Instagram influencers often promote both nicotine and cannabis vaporizer products. However, Instagram posts discouraging the use of both products received national media attention during the 2019 outbreak of e-cigarette or vaping-associated lung injury (EVALI).
objectiveThis experiment tested the impact of viewing Instagram posts about EVALI, varying in image and text valence, on young adults' perceived harmfulness of nicotine and cannabis products, perceived risk of nicotine and cannabis vaporizer use, and intentions to use nicotine and cannabis vaporizers in the future.
methodsParticipants (N=1229) aged 18-25 (mean 21.40, SD 2.22) years were recruited through Qualtrics Research Services, oversampling for ever-use of nicotine or cannabis vaporizers (618/1229, 50.3%). Participants were randomly assigned to view Instagram posts from young people portraying their experiences of EVALI in a 2 (image valence: positive or negative) × 2 (text valence: positive or negative) between-subjects experiment. Positive images were attractive and aesthetically pleasing selfies. The positive text was supportive and uplifting regarding quitting the use of vaporized products. Negative images and text were graphic and fear inducing. After viewing 3 posts, participants reported the perceived harmfulness of nicotine and cannabis products, the perceived risk of nicotine and cannabis vaporizer use, and intentions to use nicotine and cannabis vaporizers in the future. Ordinal logistic regression models assessed the main effects and interactions of image and text valence on perceived harmfulness and risk. Binary logistic regression models assessed the main effects and interactions of image and text valence on intentions to use nicotine and cannabis vaporizers. Analyses were adjusted for product use history.
resultsCompared to viewing positive images, viewing negative images resulted in significantly greater perceived harm of nicotine (P=.02 for disposable pod-based vaporizers and P=.04 for other e-cigarette "mods" devices) and cannabis vaporized products (P=.01), greater perceived risk of nicotine vaporizers (P<.01), and lower odds of intentions to use nicotine (P=.02) but not cannabis (P=.43) vaporizers in the future. There were no significant main effects of text valence on perceived harm, perceived risk, and intentions to use nicotine and cannabis vaporized products. No significant interaction effects of image and text valence were found.
conclusionsNegative imagery in Instagram posts about EVALI may convey the risks of vaporized product use and discourage young adults from this behavior, regardless of the valence of the post's text. Public health messaging regarding EVALI on Instagram should emphasize the risk of cannabis vaporizer use, as young adults may otherwise believe that only nicotine vaporizer use increases their risk for EVALI.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.