Perceptions of Somali American male young adults in Salt Lake City about social media marketing of e-cigarettes: a pilot study.

Background: Targeted marketing of tobacco products affects immigrant youth in the United States. Somali Americans may be more vulnerable because of the high prevalence of smoking among the population. This study therefore sought to determine the perceptions of male young adult Somali Americans in Salt Lake City about targeted social media marketing of e-cigarettes. Methods: We conducted three focus group sessions in May 2023 for males aged 21-25 years who self-identified as Somali Americans and had lived in Salt-Lake City for at least 6 months. A focus group guide was developed to explore the experiences and perceptions of social media marketing of e-cigarettes, and a deductive thematic analysis of the data was used to identify, analyze, and report patterns. Results: There were twenty-four participants in three focus groups. Five main themes were identified, namely: 1) intrusiveness in relation to perceived access by third parties to social media history related to e-cigarettes; 2) vulnerability, including the tendency to feel overwhelmed by a lack of control over social media communication; 3) anxiety about the possibility of social exclusion due to e-cigarettes; 4) enjoyment of the glamor associated with e-cigarette product images and interaction with social media influencers: and 5) pro-active creativity which addresses mental activities done to truncate the flow of e-cigarette advertisement. Conclusion: The feeling of intrusiveness, vulnerability and increased anxiety among the participants are indicative of negative perception of their experiences. Although the feelings of enjoyment can potentially result in lowered risk perception of e-cigarettes, there is a need to further explore the experiences of proactive creativity among participants as it can be used in designing effective interventions to reduce e-cigarette use in this population.