Share This Story!Let friends in your social network know what you are reading aboutTwitterGoogle+LinkedInPinterestPosted!A link has been posted to your Facebook feed.An 'explosion' of youth exposure to e-cigarette TV adsAs the federal government moves to set rules that would ban the sale of electronic cigarettes to minors, a new study shows that TV ads for the products have increased dramatically during programs most likely to be watched by adolescents and young adults.According to the study published online today by the journal Pediatrics, between 2011 and 2013 exposure to e-cigarette TV ads increased by 256% among adolescents ages 12 to 17 and by 321% among young adults, ages 18 to 24.Approximately 76% of the ads seen by each of the two age groups occurred while watching cable networks — most often AMC, Country Music Television, Comedy Central, WGN America, TV Land and VH1.They also appeared on broadcast network programs that were among the 100 highest rated youth programs for the 2012-2013 TV season, including The Bachelor, Big Brother and Survivor, the study finds.One brand, blu eCigs, owned by tobacco company Lorillard, accounted for almost 82% of all nationally aired e-cigarette ads viewed by 12- to 17-year-olds."The

tobacco industry and e-cigarette industry say that they are not advertising products to youth, but they are advertising products on a medium which is the broadest based medium in the country," says Jennifer Duke, lead author of the study and a public health researcher at RTI International in Research Triangle Park, N.C.With a national television audience that includes 24 million viewers between the ages of 12 and 17, "as e-cigarette advertisements increase for adults they are by default also increasing exposure to youth," Duke says.e cigarette rba"It's hard to argue that only adults are seeing these ads," she adds.Ads for traditional cigarettes have been banned from TV since 1971.e cigarette jetblueA proposed rule, released in April by the Food and Drug Administration, would ban the sale to minors of tobacco products that are currently unregulated, including e-cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco and hookahs.e cigarette oakengates

The rule would also require require ingredient disclosure, federal approval and warning labels.e cigarette usersmercial: blu eCigs ad that aired during studyCommercial: NJOY ad that aired during the studyIn a statement, blu eCigs said it has "proactively set limitations on when and where" its product "can be marketed in an effort to minimize any potential exposure to minors."e cigarette 13009A part of the criteria used "is to screen all marketing opportunities to ensure that our TV ads only run with media targeting an adult audience of 85 percent or greater."Thee cigarette agneauxnew study, which analyzed Nielsen television audience measurement data, did not focus on the content of the commercials or the audience intentionally targeted by the ads, only who had exposure to them, Duke says.The finding that these "unregulated advertisement messages about the benefits of e-cigarettes are out at a large and increasing volume" is alarming because "there are no counter messages by the public health community," she says.Among the safety concerns about the battery-powered devices that turn nicotine-laced liquid into a vapor that users inhale, is that nicotine (derived from tobacco leaves) is addictive and may lead users to try other tobacco products.E-cigarettes have not been fully studied by the FDA, but a laboratory analysis of several samples conducted by the agency in late 2008 found trace amounts of carcinogens and toxic chemicals, such as diethylene glycol, an ingredient used in antifreeze.Results of the new media study provide "the strongest evidence that there has been an absolute explosion of youth exposure to e-cigarette advertising on television," says Matthew Myers, president of the advocacy group Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids."It's

particularly disturbing precisely because Congress removed cigarette advertising from television because of the unique impact TV advertising has on young people," Myers says." When e-cigarette manufacturers say that they don't market to minors, it's deja vu all over again.This study demonstrates the importance of FDA moving rapidly and decisively to protect our nation's children."The electronic-cigarette industry has big television advertising plans for 2014—if they're not snuffed out first.The Food and Drug Administration is expected as early as January to propose curbs on the battery-powered devices amid calls from politicians and anti-tobacco groups to regulate them like traditional smokes, which haven't been allowed... Most Popular Videos Future of City Transport: Flying Taxis Why Your Next Car May Look Like a Living Room Uber CEO Travis Kalanick Resigns Capitalism Deserves More Respect From Millennials Go-Kart Tours Turn Heads in JapanFin Electronic Cigarettes TV Commercials View More Fin Electronic Cigarettes ads tracked by iSpot.tv Sign up to track nationally aired TV ad campaigns for Fin Electronic Cigarettes.

Competition for Fin Electronic Cigarettes includes Blu Cigs, VUSE, Logic., NJOY, O2PUR and the other brands in the Food & Beverage: Wine, Alcohol & E-Cigs industry.You can connect with Fin Electronic Cigarettes on Twitter and YouTube or by phone at 800-308-8175.Request Trial Learn More Fin Electronic Cigarettes TV Spot, 'Rewriting the Rules' Fin Electronic Cigarettes TV Spot Featuring Jerry Springer Request Trial to View More Search Ads, Brands & More Request a of the iSpot TV Analytics Platform CloseSkip to Main Content Area Direct evidence that e-cig TV ads are recruiting kids to nicotine addiction Mattlhew Farrelly and colleagues at RTI just published an excellent experimental study demonstrating that e-cigarette TV ads being run by blu, NJOY, and 21st Century e-cigarette companies move youth who have never used e-cigarettes toward taking them up.Here is the abstract of their paper, "A Randomized Trial of the Effect of E-cigarette TV Advertisements on Intentions to Use E-cigarettes," in American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Introduction: Adolescents’ use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) and exposure to e-cigarette TV advertising have increased in recent years, despite questions about their safety.The current study tests whether exposure to e-cigarette TV advertisements influences intentions to use e-cigarettes in the future and related attitudes.Methods: A parallel-group randomized controlled experiment was conducted and analyzed in 2014 using an online survey with a convenience sample of 3,655 U.S.adolescents aged 13–17 years who had never tried e-cigarettes.Adolescents in the treatment group viewed four e-cigarette TV advertisements.Results: Adolescents in the treatment group reported a greater likelihood of future e-cigarette use compared with the control group.ORs for the treatment group were 1.54 (p<0.001) for trying an e-cigarette soon; 1.43 (p<0.003) for trying an e-cigarette within the next year; and 1.29 (p<0.02) fortrying an e-cigarette if a best friend offered one.Adolescents in the treatment group had higher odds of agreeing that e-cigarettes can be used in places where cigarettes are not allowed (OR¼1.71, p<0.001); can be used without affecting those around you (OR=1.83, p<0.001); are a safer alternative to cigarettes (OR=1.19, p<0.01); and are less toxic (OR¼1.16, p<0.03).

Conclusions: Exposure to e-cigarette advertising had relatively large and consistent effects across experimental outcomes.Together with the simultaneous increase in e-cigarette advertising exposure and e-cigarette use among adolescents, findings suggest that e-cigarette advertising is persuading adolescents to try this novel product.This raises concerns that continued unregulated e-cigarette advertising will contribute to potential individual- and population-level harm.Meanwhile, neither the FDA or the FTC has even proposed prohibiting e-cig ads on TV and radio.Here is the RTI press release: RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC— Adolescents who are exposed to e-cigarette TV advertising are more likely to try e-cigarettes in the future, according to a groundbreaking experiment from researchers at RTI International.Although advertising and adolescent use of e-cigarettes have simultaneously increased in recent years, this is the first study to demonstrate a direct link between adolescents' exposure to advertising and their likelihood of future use.

"Nicotine is highly addictive, and many questions remain about the safety of e-cigarettes.Adolescents in the United States are routinely exposed to e-cigarette advertisements that feature celebrities who tout e-cigarettes as a smarter alternative that you can use virtually anywhere, without the guilt and without affecting the people around you," said Matthew Farrelly, Ph.D., chief scientist at RTI."Our findings suggest that e-cigarette TV advertisements are successfully convincing adolescent viewers to try the novel products they promote."These findings, published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, come on the heels of the FDA's final public workshop, held in early June, to discuss the public health implications of e-cigarettes.Last April the FDA proposed a rule that would give the agency the authority to regulate e-cigarettes as a tobacco product and prohibit their sale to children under the age of 18.Yet while conventional cigarette ads have been banned from TV since 1971, this new rule will not restrict any advertising of e-cigarettes.

Use of e-cigarettes among high school students tripled in the past year and is now even higher than conventional cigarette use, according to a recent CDC study.At the same time, TV advertising of e-cigarettes has grown dramatically, despite questions and concerns about their safety.A 2014 RTI study, published in Pediatrics, found that youth exposure to electronic cigarette advertisements on television increased by 256 percent from 2011 to 2013 and young adult exposure to e-cigarette ads jumped 321 percent in the same time period."There is substantial evidence that conventional cigarette advertising increases youth smoking, but no direct evidence supports similar effects for e-cigarette advertising," Farrelly said."This study fills that critical gap in our understanding of how e-cigarette advertising affects youth."Using a sample of 3,655 U.S.adolescents who had never used e-cigarettes, the randomized control experiment found that adolescents exposed to four e-cigarette TV advertisements reported a 50 percent higher likelihood of future use than the control group.

Similarly, the group exposed to the ads was more likely to express positive attitudes about e-cigarettes—that they are cool, safe, fun, healthy and enjoyable."It is little wonder that adolescents hold these beliefs, given that e-cigarettes have been advertised as the healthy and socially accepted alternative to conventional cigarettes since entering the market in 2004," Farrelly said."Although the negative health effects of cigarettes are firmly established, many questions remain about the safety of e-cigarettes, which include nicotine but not tobacco."Nicotine is a highly addictive substance that negatively affects adolescents' brain development, with increased anxiety and depression, and may make them more susceptible to conventional cigarettes, according to researchers.Farrelly warns "the lack of restrictions on e-cigarette advertisements, which can be seen anywhere from Comedy Central to the Super Bowl, could have significant implications for the rates of e-cigarette use among adolescents and their health."