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BackgroundSocial media posts that portray vaping in positive social contexts shape people’s perceptions and serve to normalize vaping. Despite restrictions on depicting or promoting controlled substances, vape-related content is easily accessible on TikTok. There is a need to understand strategies used in promoting vaping on TikTok, especially among susceptible youth audiences. ObjectiveThis study seeks to comprehensively describe direct (ie, explicit promotional efforts) and indirect (ie, subtler strategies) themes promoting vaping on TikTok using a mixture of computational and qualitative thematic analyses of social media posts. In addition, we aim to describe how these themes might play a role in normalizing vaping behavior on TikTok for youth audiences, thereby informing public health communication and regulatory policies regarding vaping endorsements on TikTok. MethodsWe collected 14,002 unique TikTok posts using 50 vape-related hashtags (eg, #vapetok and #boxmod). Using the k-means unsupervised machine learning algorithm, we identified clusters and then categorized posts qualitatively based on themes. Next, we organized all videos from the posts thematically and extracted the visual features of each theme using 3 machine learning–based model architectures: residual network (ResNet) with 50 layers (ResNet50), Visual Geometry Group model with 16 layers, and vision transformer. We chose the best-performing model, ResNet50, to thoroughly analyze the image clustering output. To assess clustering accuracy, we examined 4.01% (441/10,990) of the samples from each video cluster. Finally, we randomly selected 50 videos (5% of the total videos) from each theme, which were qualitatively coded and compared with the machine-derived classification for validation. ResultsWe successfully identified 5 major themes from the TikTok posts. Vape product marketing (1160/10,990, 8.28%) reflected direct marketing, while the other 4 themes reflected indirect marketing: TikTok influencer (3775/14,002, 26.96%), general vape (2741/14,002, 19.58%), vape brands (2042/14,002, 14.58%), and vaping cessation (1272/14,002, 9.08%). The ResNet50 model successfully classified clusters based on image features, achieving an average F1-score of 0.97, the highest among the 3 models. Qualitative content analyses indicated that vaping was depicted as a normal, routine part of daily life, with TikTok influencers subtly incorporating vaping into popular culture (eg, gaming, skateboarding, and tattooing) and social practices (eg, shopping sprees, driving, and grocery shopping). ConclusionsThe results from both computational and qualitative analyses of text and visual data reveal that vaping is normalized on TikTok. Our identified themes underscore how everyday conversations, promotional content, and the influence of popular figures collectively contribute to depicting vaping as a normal and accepted aspect of daily life on TikTok. Our study provides valuable insights for regulatory policies and public health initiatives aimed at tackling the normalization of vaping on social media platforms.

PurposeWe aimed to determine (1) the most commonly used brands of electronic vaping products (EVPs) by young adults in Texas during Spring 2023, and (2) if brand preferences differ by sociodemographic characteristics, current cigarette smoking, and current cannabis vaping.MethodParticipants were 2,491 18-25-year-olds (Mean age = 20.6; 62.9% female; 29.7% sexual gender minority; 35.9% non-Hispanic White, 45.0% Hispanic/Latino, 3.5% non-Hispanic Black, 11.6% non-Hispanic Asian, and 4.0% two or more races or another race/ethnicity) enrolled in 21 Texas colleges during February-March 2023 who used EVPs in the past 30-days.ResultsEsco Bar was the most popular EVP brand (32.5%), followed by Elf Bar (19%), Vuse (10.1%), and all other brands were used by < 10% of participants. Nearly 20% of participants reported not having a usual brand. Participants who used Esco Bar, Elf Bar, and Puff Bar were younger (i.e., 18-20 years old), female, and Hispanic/Latino. Vuse, JUUL, and Smok were used by participants who were older (i.e., 21-25 years old), male, non-Hispanic white, used EVPs daily, and currently smoked cigarettes.ConclusionThe present study extends prior research by providing contemporary data on young adult EVP brand preferences in Texas during Spring 2023. Many of the brands commonly used by young adults (e.g., Esco Bar, Elf Bar) are not currently authorized for marketing or sale by the Food and Drug Administration. Findings underscore a need for additional enforcement efforts that prohibit the distribution and sale of these products to, in turn, prevent EVP use among young adults.

Introduction Social media use and vaping nicotine are highly prevalent in the daily lives of young adults, especially among Mexican-American college students. The excessive and compulsive use of social media platforms, coupled with the urge to stay continuously connected, can lead to problematic social media use. To date, no studies have explored the impact of problematic social media use on the daily patterns of vaping among this vulnerable population. Methods In Spring 2023, we employed Ecological Momentary Assessment over a period of 14 days to collect real-time daily data on participants’ social media use and vaping behaviors via a mobile phone–based application. Participants were 51 Mexican-American college students aged 18–25 years, 72.5% female, who were current vapers. We used generalized linear regression models to examine differences in vaping behaviors among participants with and without problematic social media use. All regression models adjusted for age, sex, and SES. Results Participants with problematic social media use vaped on an average of 5.9 days compared to 5.7 days reported by those without problematic social media use ( p

Cannabis use is common in young adulthood, yet little is known about the prevalence and patterns of multi-modal (i.e., use of more than one mode) cannabis use. Objective: We aimed to (1) determine the past 30-day prevalence of five modes (smoke, vape, edible, dab, other) of cannabis use, (2) describe the prevalence of multi-modal cannabis use (single vs. dual vs. poly-modal), and (3) identify socio-demographic correlates of multi-modal use among young adults. Method: Participants were 764 22–30-year-olds who currently used cannabis from Wave 9 (Spring 2019) of the Marketing and Promotions Across Colleges in Texas Project. Participants were 25.11 years old on average (SD = 1.81), 63.6% female, 38.7% identified as non-Hispanic white, 30.6% as Hispanic/Latino, 13.0% as Asian and 9.4% as Black, and 8.2% identified with two or more races or another race/ethnicity. Bivariate analyses and a multinomial regression were used to examine study questions. Results: Smoking was the most common mode of cannabis use followed by vaping and then edibles. Nearly 43% of participants reported single-modal cannabis use, 33% reported dual-modal use, and 24% reported poly-modal use. Males and those identifying as non-heterosexual were at a greater risk than their counterparts for using multiple modes of cannabis. Participants identifying as Black were at a reduced risk for poly-modal compared to single-modal use. Conclusion: Multi-modal use is common among young adults who currently use cannabis, indicating a need for universal efforts aimed at all young adults. Tailored interventions aimed toward those at elevated risk for multi-modal use also are needed.