证据表明，电子烟的实验和使用正在增加。电子烟在互联网上广泛宣传，用户生成的内容和社交媒体上的影响者营销对塑造前青春期和青少年对问题和产品的理解产生了重要的影响。我们旨在探讨前青春期和青少年对电子烟以及更广泛的电子烟营销环境，包括用户生成和影响者内容的反应和参与。在2022年3月至5月之间，在苏格兰中部地区，英国，进行了20个焦点小组研讨，共有82名年龄为11-16岁的前青春期和青少年参与。参与者被问及吸烟和吸电子烟的行为、社交媒体使用、吸电子烟广告暴露，并展示典型社交媒体内容（例如图像和视频），旨在引发有关不同信息、呈现和环境特征的讨论。焦点小组的音频记录被逐字逐句地转录，并使用主题分析方法进行编码。 参与者提到，他们主要通过社交媒体平台（如Instagram和TikTok）看到电子烟广告。青少年们认为在社交媒体上展示的电子烟经常被美化为“酷”、“时尚”，吸引力极强。社交媒体影响者将电子烟视为现代生活方式的配件。参与者通常认为电子烟比传统烟草有害性更小，但也表达了对社交媒体上健康和年龄警告（例如告诫年龄小于18岁的个人不要使用）的稀缺性的关注，这被视为一个问题，特别是对那些在这些社交媒体平台上花时间的年幼儿童。参与者表示，广告是以他们这个年龄段为目标的，而电子烟的口味鼓励青少年想试用产品，特别是甜味口味。 鉴于前青春期和青少年广泛使用社交媒体的高水平，这些发现提供了令人担忧的证据，表明电子烟对这个人群具有吸引力。我们的发现表明，需要政府共同制定和实施限制在社交媒体上广告和营销电子烟的政策。此外，社交媒体平台应考虑采取更强有力的措施，如年龄和健康警告，以确保防止针对未成年用户的吸电子烟相关内容。 版权所有 ©2022 Elsevier Ltd.保留所有权利。 Cancer Research UK、英国医学研究委员会和英国首席科学家办公室。

Evidence suggests that experimentation and use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) is increasing. E-cigarettes are widely promoted on the internet, and user-generated content and influencer marketing on social media represents an important influence in shaping pre-adolescents and adolescents' understanding of issues and products. We aim to explore pre-adolescents and adolescents' responses to, and engagement with, e-cigarettes and the broader e-cigarette marketing environment, including user-generated and influencer content.20 focus groups were conducted between March and May, 2022, with 82 pre-adolescents and adolescents aged 11-16 years living in the central belt area of Scotland, UK. Participants were asked about smoking and vaping behaviours, social media use, vaping advertisement exposure, and were shown illustrative examples of typical social media content (eg, images and videos), which were used to stimulate discussion about different messages, presentations, and contextual features. Focus groups were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and coded by means of thematic analysis methods.Participants mentioned seeing e-cigarette advertising mostly through social media platforms, such as Instagram and TikTok. Youths agreed that e-cigarettes portrayed on social media were often glamorised as being "cool", "fashionable", enticing by social media influencers, and viewed as a modern lifestyle accessory. Participants typically viewed e-cigarettes as less harmful than traditional cigarettes, but also expressed concerns about the scarcity of health and age warnings (ie, cautioning against use by individuals younger than 18 years) on social media, which was viewed as problematic, especially for younger children who spend time on these social media platforms. Participants stated that the adverts were branded to target their age group and that the e-cigarette flavourings encouraged youths to want to try the products, particularly sweet flavourings.Given the high level of pre-adolescents and adolescents' engagement with social media, these findings provide worrying evidence that e-cigarettes are attractive to this population group. Our findings suggest the growing need for governments to work together to develop and implement policies to restrict the advertising and marketing of e-cigarettes on social media. In addition, social media platforms should consider implementing more robust measures, such as age and health warnings, to ensure the prevention of vaping-related content targeted at underage users.Cancer Research UK, UK Medical Research Council, and UK Chief Science Office.Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.