Most Tobacco Instagram Posts Do Not Adhere to FDA Warning Requirements

MONDAY, Sept. 16, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Most nicotine brand Instagram posts do not adhere to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) health warning requirements for tobacco promotions, according to a study published online Sept. 13 in JAMA Network Open.

Jiaxi Wu, Ph.D., from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and colleagues examined the extent to which synthetic nicotine electronic cigarette brands have implemented FDA health warning requirements, including appearing on the upper portion of the advertisement and occupying at least 20 percent of the advertisement's area, in a cross-sectional study. Instagram posts from 25 brands were analyzed across a 14-month period.

The researchers found that 13 percent of the 2,071 posts complied with both FDA health warning requirements. Seventy-nine and 29 percent of the 924 posts with health warnings displayed warnings in the upper image portion and had a warning covering at least 20 percent of the pixel area, respectively. Compared with posts without warnings, those with warnings received fewer comments (mean, 1.8 versus 5.4 comments; adjusted incident rate ratio [aIRR], 0.70). For posts containing warnings, there was an association for a larger percentage of the warning label's pixel area with fewer comments (aIRR, 0.96). Compared with posts with warnings in the lower portion, those with health warnings placed in the upper image received more likes (mean, 34.6 versus 19.9 likes; aIRR, 1.48).

"Posts that included health warnings and a larger warning size received less user engagement. Health warnings may lessen user engagement, which could deter youth uptake and use of synthetic nicotine products," the authors write.

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