Evolution of influencer-driven E-cigarette marketing on social media and its effect on E-cigarette perceptions and use patterns among adolescents

The National Cancer Institute awarded the University of Southern California $733,023 on September 3, 2026, under the Cancer Cause and Prevention Research program (CFDA 93.393) to conduct randomized experiments and eye-tracking studies examining how influencer-driven e-cigarette marketing on social media affects adolescent perceptions and use patterns.

The project will conduct two randomized between-subject experiments among 6,000 adolescents per experiment recruited nationwide and an eye-tracking within-subject experiment among 300 California adolescents. The research focuses on covert marketing tactics employed by micro-influencers on Instagram and TikTok—including audio-visual effects, age-stylization, autonomous sensory meridian response sounds, and lifestyle contextualization—and their potential to diminish adolescents' harm perceptions, normalize e-cigarette use, and expose never-users to e-cigarette content. The study examines the prevalence of non-compliant or absent brand sponsorship disclosures and nicotine warning labels on influencer posts.

The award covers the period of performance from September 3, 2026, through August 31, 2030, with place of performance in Los Angeles, California. The University of Southern California's Department of Contracts and Grants Division serves as the recipient organization.

Abstract

/project summary E-cigarette use among adolescents remains a concern in the united states with over 1.6 million (6%) of middle- and high school students reporting past 30-day use in 2024. Social media advertising exposure is associated with E-cigarette use among youth. Content hosted by micro-influencers - e.g., models, bloggers, brand ambassadors who typically have 1,000-100,000 followers and post on behalf of E-cigarette brands - is prevalent, especially on social media platforms popular among adolescents: instagram and tiktok. Microinfluencers have been increasingly using covert marketing tactics such as audio-visual effects, including stylizing themselves to appear younger, using autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) sounds (e.g., tapping on an E-cigarette) that can trigger pleasant sensations, and depicting E-cigarettes in attractive lifestyle contexts (e.g., healthy lifestyle, gaming, computer-generated avatar). Micro-influencers' posts also often lack or have non-compliant with requirements implemented by the U.S. Federal food and drug administration (FDA) and the federal trade commission (FTC) E-cigarette brand sponsorship disclosures or nicotine warning labels. These tactics could diminish adolescents' harm perceptions of E-cigarettes, contribute to normalization of E-cigarette use, and expose E-cigarette never-users to E-cigarette content. The overall goal of this project is to inform the field about E-cigarette-related influencer marketing on social media and its effects on youth. To understand the impact of these marketing tactics, the proposed study will 1) conduct two randomized between-subject experiments among 6,000 adolescents (per each experiment) recruited nationwide and an eye-tracking within-subject experiment among 300 california adolescents to test the effects of audio-visual features of E-cigarette influencer marketing on perceptions of influencer credibility, E-cigarette harm perceptions, appeal, and susceptibility to E-cigarette use (aim 1), and 2) detect and monitor influencers' use of audio-visual marketing features on social media over time (2019-2029), using multimodal deep learning (aim 2). Findings from this project will provide information about adolescents' risks of exposure to E-cigarette-related content promoted by influencers on social media. This information can inform the development of effective tobacco prevention and cessation interventions for adolescents.