Media release

From: Pasifika Medical Association Group

We don’t know much about the marketing of vape products on social media and young people’s exposure to this marketing. We surveyed 3,698 young people (aged 14–20 years) with a range of genders (55.7% females; 38.3% males; 6% another gender), ethnicities (25.6% Māori; 46.7% NZ European; 6.5% Pasifika and 21.2% another ethnicity) and social classes. Half of the sample reported seeing vape marketing on at least one social media platform, and a quarter engaged with this marketing (including purchasing vapes online). Younger respondents were more likely to report seeing vape marketing than older respondents, and Māori and Pasifika more likely than other ethnicities. Patterns of exposure to vape product marketing on social media mirror the inequitable marketing exposure of harmful commodities in physical environments.