Targeting Teens
Vaping has come under tremendous scrutiny, because the recent outbreak of lung diseases among its users has focused public attention on the alternative to cigarettes. Eight deaths and more than 500 cases of lung injury have been reported from 38 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most of these have been associated with vaping of products containing THC, the active chemical in cannabis.
Although San Francisco-based Juul Labs, the leading e-cigarette maker, claims that it did not want teens to use its products, a series of studies from Stanford University reveals that its advertising strategy has diligently and successfully aimed it young consumers, according to a story by Michael Hiltzik in the Los Angeles Times. Juul used social media heavily to make vaping popular with teens.
The study reveals that Juul’s advertising in the first few years since its 2015 launch “featured patently youth-oriented imagery and messaging.” The study, which was doing research on the effect of tobacco advertising, was based on diligent collecting of Juul ads and marketing materials. Juul ads looked like the print tobacco ads published decades ago.
More recently, Juul’s advertising has changed to ward off “regulatory and legislative attacks,” but the impact is still there, according to the study. After the company stopped its promotional social media postings in November 2018, it had twice as many online posts using the hashtag #Juul. Youthful users who had gotten excited about Juul’s initial advertising were responsible for many of the posts, and the momentum grew.
According to Robert K. Jackler, a professor at Stanford Medical School and head of the Stanford program, “They knew what was going on, and they did nothing to stop it.”
However, according to Juul, “We have never marketed to youth and we never will. Our marketing efforts exclusively feature adult smokers who share their personal experiences about switching to Juul products from combustible cigarettes — all conveyed in a style, tone and message tailored to current adult smokers.”
The same conclusion was drawn by a University of Michigan study of drug abuse trends published in December. That study said that “increases in adolescent vaping from 2017 to 2018 were the largest ever recorded in the past 43 years for any adolescent substance use outcome in the U.S.”
Recent Juul ads have portrayed the company’s products as being safer than cigarettes, most likely to give older smokers an incentive to switch to vaping. That strategy created more problems for Juul, which was already under investigation by the Food and Drug Administration for its marketing practices. The reason for that concern is that it is illegal to claim that a product is safer than tobacco without an FDA order issued after a review of “scientific evidence.” The FDA told Juul to stop doing that by means of a warning letter issued September 9.
Clearly, the American public has not heard the last of the finger pointing about vaping, especially because the flavored products have been so attractive to teens. Now the question is how to figure out the particular effects vaping can have — and to circumvent additional problems.
