Influencer E-Cigarette and Cannabis Marketing: a Survey-Based Experiment Among Adolescents

Adolescent non-users of e-cigarettes and cannabis (N = 1,462) participated in the in-class survey-based experiment. They were randomly shown 3 pairs of images featuring influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside cannabis, (experimental group), or no-substance use or display (placebo treatment), or e-cigarette promotion alone (control). After viewing each pair of images, participants rated perceptions of influencer credibility (i.e., honesty, trustworthiness, knowledge) on the scale of 0 (e.g., dishonest) to 100 (honest).

Susceptibility to use e-cigarettes was assessed after participants viewed all the images. These outcomes were then compared among participants who perceived influencers as credible and those who perceived influencers as non-credible.

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Key information

Conditions

Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems Behavior Smoking Vaping

Age range

16 year–17 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California, 90032, United States

About this study

Adolescents (13-17 years of age) living in California were recruited by Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science at the University of Southern California (USC TCORS) to participate in the ADVANCE survey cohort focused on tobacco-related attitudes and behaviors. Participants completed the experiment, which was part of the survey at cohort's Wave 7, on Chromebooks in classroom. All participants provided informed consent and parental assent prior to participating in the experiment. The study was approved by the University of Southern California Institutional Review Board (HS-19-00682-AM016). Respondents were randomly shown 3 pairs of images featuring influencers promoting e-cigarettes (image 1) paired with cannabis (image 2), (experimental group), or no-substance use or display (two images featuring neutral profiles of influencers), (placebo treatment), or e-cigarette promotion (image 1) paired with a neutral profile (with no e-cigarette) of the influencer featured in image 1 (control).

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

English fluency,
Current California resident.

Exclusion criteria

Not meeting these criteria:

English fluency,
Current California resident.

Treatment and study plan

Influencer marketing

Behavioral

Participants viewed survey-imbedded promotional images featuring influencers

Primary outcomes

Perceptions of influencer credibility

Time frame: assessed during the ~ 30-minute experiment, immediately after each of the three pairs of influencer images

Perceptions of influencer credibility (i.e., honesty, trustworthiness, knowledge) were assessed using a 0 (e.g., dishonest) -100 (e.g., honest) scale that has been validated in prior research.
Susceptibility to use e-cigarettes

Time frame: one-time assessment after the experimental exposure (immediately post-treatment)

Susceptibility to use e-cigarettes was measured using the validated three-item scale adapted from Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH), and combined into one variable (α=0.93). Consistent with prior research, the measure was dichotomized with responses "definitely not" to all items being coded as "not susceptible" and responses "probably not," "probably yes", or "definitely yes" being coded as "susceptible."

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of Southern California

Other

Registry information

Important dates

Study start: 2023
Primary completion: 2023
Study completion: 2023
First posted: Apr 9, 2025
Registry last updated: Apr 9, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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Completed