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BackgroundNicotine pouches and lozenges are increasingly available in the United States, and sales are growing. The brands of nicotine pouch products with the largest market share are produced by tobacco companies.ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to examine the marketing of 5 oral nicotine products sold by tobacco companies.MethodsInternet, radio, television, print, and web-based display advertisements between January 2019 and March 2020 for 6 brands of nicotine pouches and lozenges were identified through commercially available marketing surveillance systems supplemented by a manual search of trade press and a review of brand websites. A total of 711 advertisements (122 unique) were analyzed to identify characteristics, themes, marketing strategies, and target audiences, and qualitatively compared by brand. All 5 brand websites were also analyzed. Coders examined the entirety of each advertisement or website for products, marketing claims, and features and recorded the presence or absence of 27 marketing claims and lifestyle elements.ResultsAll 6 brands of nicotine pouch products spent a total of US $11.2 million on advertising in 2019, with the most (US $10.7 million) spent by the brand Velo, and 86.1% (n=105) of the unique advertisements were web-based. Of the 711 total nicotine pouch advertisements run in 2019, the 2 brands Velo (n=407, 57%) and ZYN (n=303, 42%) dominated. These brands also made the greatest number of advertising claims in general. These claims focused on novelty, modernity, and use in a variety of contexts, including urban contexts, workplaces, transportation, and leisure activities. Of the 122 unique advertisements, ZYN's most common claims were to be "tobacco-free," featuring many flavors or varieties, and modern. Velo was the only brand to include urban contexts (n=14, 38.9% of advertisements) or freedom (n=8, 22.2%); Velo advertisements portrayed use in the workplace (n=15, 41.7%), bars or clubs (n=5, 13.9%), leisure activities (n=4, 11.1%), transportation (n=4, 11.1%), sports (n=3, 8.3%), cooking (n=2, 5.6%), and with alcohol (n=1, 2.8%). Velo and ZYN also included most of the images of people, including women and people of color. The 36 Velo ads included people in advertising in 77.8% (n=28) of advertisements, and of those advertisements with identifiable people, 40% (n=4) were young adults and 50% (n=5) were middle-aged. About one-third (n=11, 35.5%) of the 31 unique ZYN advertisements included people, and most identifiable models appeared to be young adults. Brands such as Rogue, Revel, Dryft, and on! focused mainly on product features. All nicotine pouch products made either tobacco-free, smoke-free, spit-free, or vape-free claims. The most common claim overall was "tobacco-free," found in advertisements from Rogue (1/1, 100%), ZYN (30/31, 96.8%), Velo (19/36, 52.8%), and Dryft (1/3, 33.3%), but not Revel.ConclusionsNicotine pouches and lozenges may expand the nicotine market as tobacco-free claims alleviate concerns about health harms and advertising features a greater diversity of people and contexts than typical smokeless tobacco advertising. The market leaders and highest-spending brands, ZYN and Velo, included more lifestyle claims. Surveillance of nicotine pouch marketing and uptake, including influence on tobacco use behaviors, is necessary.

Lost Mary is a popular e-cigarette brand among youth in the United States. This study aimed to analyze Lost Mary's branded social media activity and assess whether marketing efforts may have contributed to its youth appeal. We conducted a content analysis of 53 Lost Mary posts published on social media platforms from 2022 to 2023. More than a third of the posts included flavor descriptors, including fruit or ice, both popular flavors among youth. More than two-thirds of the posts used vibrant colors, and any human models included appeared to be young adults. Findings suggest that Lost Mary may target youth on social media platforms through the use of youth-appealing advertisement strategies (e.g. flavors). These findings highlight the need for increased monitoring of e-cigarette brand marketing on social media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Given the rapidly changing media landscape and popularity of e-cigarettes among young adults who identify as lesbian or gay, bisexual, questioning, or something else (LGB+), timely data on media consumption and exposure to e-cigarette content across media channels is imperative for developing counter-messaging and public education campaigns for these individuals., Methods: Using 2023 data from young adults in California, this study examined how social media use differed for heterosexual and LGB+ young adults, by sex. Exposure to e-cigarette content across media channels was also compared between heterosexual and LGB+ young adults, by sex., Results: Findings from a non-probability representative sample of young adults in California showed that more LGB+ young adults reported using Tumblr and fewer reported using Facebook and Snapchat, compared with heterosexual young adults, among both males and females. Use of Reddit was more common among LGB+ versus heterosexual females, but there were no differences by sexual identity among males. Exposure to e-cigarette marketing was more common among LGB+ females compared with heterosexual females, but this was not the case for males. Exposure to user-generated e-cigarette content, and self-reported visits to e-cigarette websites, were more common among LGB+ females compared to heterosexual females., Conclusions: These findings highlight the importance of treating LGB+ individuals as a heterogeneous group. As such, anti-tobacco campaigns targeting LGB+ individuals that leverage social media will want to consider which platforms are most used among their target audience to increase campaign reach., Implications: This study builds upon the literature by providing timely data on how LGB+ young adults consume social media and are exposed to e-cigarette marketing. Findings have implications for tobacco education campaigns designed for LGB+ individuals that leverage social media., (© The Author(s) 2025. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Competing Interests: Competing interests: No, there are no competing interests.

Objectives: In the USA, some tobacco companies replaced the marketing phrase '100% natural additive-free tobacco' with 'tobacco ingredients: tobacco & water' (T&W) after receiving warnings from the US Food and Drug Administration. This study assesses how people interpret the now-restricted additive-free claims and newer T&W claims on Natural American Spirit (NAS) and L&M cigarette packs., Methods: An online between-subjects experiment randomised 2526 US adults to view one of three packs: an NAS additive-free pack, an NAS T&W pack or an L&M T&W pack. Participants provided their interpretations of the claim they viewed in an open-text response box. n=810 responses were coded, with frequency reported overall, by experimental condition, and by product harm perceptions., Results: Interpreting the claim as meaning 'fewer chemicals/harmful ingredients' was significantly more frequent in the NAS additive-free (47.7%) condition but remained common among those in the NAS T&W (27.2%) and L&M T&W (20.3%) conditions (p<0.01). For all conditions, the 'fewer chemicals' interpretation was more common among those who believed the product was less harmful than other cigarettes (p<0.001). Some participants (8%-15%) interpreted the claim they saw to mean the product was less addictive or had less nicotine than other cigarettes, with no significant differences by condition., Conclusions: Like 'additive-free', 'tobacco and water' marketing claims are commonly interpreted as meaning cigarettes have fewer chemicals or harmful ingredients, suggesting they may similarly function as unauthorised modified exposure claims. Regulatory action and educational interventions are warranted to reduce use of these misleading claims and to correct misperceptions., Competing Interests: Competing interests: No, there are no competing interests., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2025. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ Group.)

On July 1, 2024, RJ Reynolds Vapor Company (RJRVC) introduced Sensa, the first disposable "zero nicotine vapor product" from a major tobacco company. Sensa sold more than 100,000 units as of September 10, 2024 and has been marketed through several channels. Direct-mail and magazine ads appeal to consumers' senses (e.g., "awaken your senses") and showcase Sensa's six flavor options: Berry Fusion, Berry Watermelon Fusion, Blueberry Frost, Mint Frost, Passionfruit Frost, and Watermelon Frost. Our chemical characterization of all Sensa flavors (except Berry Watermelon Fusion) found neotame (a potent artificial sweetener) and WS-23 (a synthetic coolant) in all samples, while all "Frost" flavors tested contained another synthetic coolant, WS-3. Although RJRVC states that Sensa is for "adult tobacco and vapor consumers," Sensa's resemblance to popular disposable vaping devices and youth-appealing flavors raise concerns about Sensa's appeal to young people, and limited regulations for "zero nicotine" products introduce uncertainty about product safety., Competing Interests: Declarations Additional Declarations: The authors declare no competing interests.

Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared.