An examination of electronic cigarette content on social media: Analysis of e-cigarette flavor content on reddit

Lei Wang, Yongcheng Zhan, Qiudan Li, Daniel D. Zeng, Scott J. Leischow, Janet Okamoto

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

In recent years, the emerging electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) marketplace has shown great development prospects all over the world. Reddit, one of the most popular forums in the world, has a very large user group and thus great influence. This study aims to gain a systematic understanding of e-cigarette flavors based on data collected from Reddit. Flavor popularity, mixing, characteristics, trends, and brands are analyzed. Fruit flavors were mentioned the most (n = 15,720) among all the posts and were among the most popular flavors (n = 2902) used in mixed blends. Strawberry and vanilla flavors were the most popular for e-juice mixing. The number of posts discussing e-cigarette flavors has increased sharply since 2014. Mt. Baker Vapor and Hangen were the most popular brands discussed among users. Information posted on Reddit about e-cigarette flavors reflected consumers’ interest in a variety of flavors. Our findings suggest that Reddit could be used for data mining and analysis of e-cigarette-related content. Understanding how e-cigarette consumers’ view and utilize flavors within their vaping experience and how producers and marketers use social media to promote flavors and sell products could provide valuable information for regulatory decision-makers.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)14933-14952
Number of pages20
JournalInternational journal of environmental research and public health
Volume12
Issue number11
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 20 2015

Keywords

  • E-cigarette flavor
  • E-juice
  • E-liquid
  • Reddit
  • Social media

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
  • Pollution
  • Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis

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