Blue hole new consumption report, December 6, according to foreign reports, in recent years, the popularity of flavored electronic cigarette products among young people has attracted more and more attention. Many campaigns to reduce the popularity of these products include banning non tobacco tastes. These activities often fail to take into account that adult smokers who want to quit smoking are using them, including flavoring products, as an alternative form of nicotine, which has low toxic exposure.

Researchers at the University of Minnesota are exploring whether changing the packaging of electronic cigarette products will reduce young people’s interest in them.

The research, published in Nicotine and Tobacco Research, aims to determine whether removing the flavor image and color on the electronic cigarette package will reduce the appeal of the product to middle school students. The researchers asked 176 young people to examine different types of electronic cigarette packaging and answer questions measuring their risk perception, novelty perception, susceptibility and behavioral intentions.

Research findings:

1. According to the opinions of packaging participants, there is no difference in risk perception.

2. However, for participants who watch fruit flavored e-cigarette products with flavor colors and flavor images, novelty (for example, how interesting and interesting) and sensitivity to e-cigarettes are the highest.

3. Participants who watched fruit flavored electronic cigarette products with flavor color and flavor images reported higher novelty and sensitivity than those who watched fruit flavored electronic cigarette products without flavor color and flavor images.

4. The appearance of fruit flavor products without flavor color and flavor image reduces the appeal of the product among young people.

5. Teenagers who reported lower risk perception and higher susceptibility had higher behavioral intentions of electronic cigarette in the next year.

“It is essential to formulate regulatory and public health strategies to reduce young people’s interest in e-cigarettes.” Sherri Jean Katz, an assistant professor at the Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication, said she specializes in health communication. “This study shows that we can reduce young people’s interest in these products by changing the packaging.”

Future research should test the flavor presentation changes of adult smokers to determine whether removing the color and image of fruit flavor will affect their perception of these products, and whether they still regard them as alternatives to cigarettes. More research is needed to test how the marketing restrictions on electronic cigarette products can adapt to a larger regulatory environment.

The study was supported by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health and the FDA Tobacco Products Center.