TikTok failing to regulate vaping promotion to young: study

By Jim Leffman via SWNS

Nearly all videos on TikTok featuring vaping promote the product and more than a quarter breach the site's rules, a new study has found.

Researchers say that the site cannot be relied on to enforce its own rules and youngsters are being put at risk.

The team at Curtin University in Australia found that 97.7 percent of the site's videos featuring vaping were positive, featuring vaping 'tricks,' promoting a vaping community and generally normalizing the product.

Lead researcher Professor Jonine Jancey, from the Curtin School of Population Health, said the findings highlighted the dangers of relying on social media platforms to develop and enforce their own policies around content.

She said: "Our study explored how e-cigarettes are promoted on TikTok, to assess the effectiveness of the platform’s own ‘drugs, controlled substances, alcohol and tobacco policy.

“The sheer amount of potentially harmful content being fed to young people on TikTok shows self-regulation is failing."

The study, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, looked at 264 videos posted on the site featuring vapes.

In total, they had gathered 2.5 million views with 97.7 portraying e-cigs positively. Of those 98.7 percent received the total views and 98.2 percent of the total likes.

Prof Jancey added: “These used humor, music, shared vaping tricks and referred to a ‘vaping community,' supporting the normalization of these products.

“Sixty-nine of the posts (26.1 percent) we reviewed violated TikTok’s content policy by promoting these products for purchase.

"This included videos containing details on how and where to purchase e-cigarette products, links to online retailers and other social media accounts for purchasing products and offers such as ‘buy three, get one free’ and giveaways.”

“It seems there are no major consequences for those who do not follow TikTok guidelines and violate content policy."

"Social media platforms can decide the consequences for breaches of their policies, but they have a clear financial incentive not to punish people who breach their policies.

“Government regulations that capture e-cigarette advertising, promotion and sponsorship, including on social media must be enforced.

"These should include requiring social media platforms to report on how they are ensuring these regulations are upheld.”

Co-author and Professor of Internet Studies Tama Leaver from Curtin’s School of Media, Creative Arts and Social Inquiry added: “This is essentially a form of peer-to-peer promotion where young people see their friends or celebrities portraying vaping in a positive way.

"In addition, some vaping content is posted by influencers who may actually be paid by the e-cigarette industry to promote their products, although this is not disclosed and young people watching these videos may not even know they are being advertised to.”