Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science (TCORS)

Project 1: Effects of Social Media Messages and Marketing on Tobacco Transitions

Centers and Institutes

This project, known as TCORS Project 1, incorporates two complementary studies to determine how pro-tobacco marketing and messages about e-cigarettes on social media will influence e-cigarette susceptibility, experimentation, and transitions in tobacco use among adolescents (under age 18) and young adults (ages 18-29). Results can guide FDA regulations affecting marketing on social media that may have differential effects on non-users and users, and FDA’s evaluation of the potential risk of messages outlined in new product marketing applications.

Project Aims

    Aim 1

    To analyze continuously collected social media posts that include e-cigarette and other tobacco product-related keywords to determine trends in product marketing and conversations about e-cigarette products and their diverse product characteristics.

    Aim 2

    To determine whether participation (e.g., posting, liking, sharing) in e-cigarette-related social media, especially posts that contain youth-oriented themes, is associated with tobacco product susceptibility and use among youth and young adults.

    Principal Investigator

    Jennifer Unger, PhD

    Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences

    Vice Chair for Faculty Development

    Director of PhD program in Health Behavior Research