The use of e-cigarettes is proliferating globally, notably among youth and children. Yet, little is known about the landscape of digital e-cigarette marketing, particularly in India where 268,000 people are currently using these products, despite complete ban on it.
A new study released in Frontiers in Public Health compares e-cigarette marketing in India, Indonesia and Mexico—three countries with different e-cigarette regulations and large populations of youth online—to detail the extent and messaging of e-cigarette marketing. In India, 100% of marketing originated from accounts associated with third-party retailers.
With the rise of social media and digital marketing, India’s youth have worryingly become a more easily reachable market for the tobacco industry, saidVaishkahi Malik, Associate Director, South Asia, Vital Strategies.
