Traci Hong1, Jiaxi Wu1, Derry Wijaya2, Ziming Xuan3, Jessica L Fetterman4,5. 1. College of Communication, Boston University, Boston, United States. 2. Department of Computer Science, Boston University, Boston, United States. 3. School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, United States. 4. Evans Department of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, United States. 5. Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute, Boston University, Boston, United States.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: The public most frequently associates tobacco use solely with pulmonary health risks, despite heart disease being the leading cause of death in smokers. The health perceptions of e-cigarettes, especially cardiovascular health, have not been well studied. We aimed to evaluate the prevalence and health perceptions of tweets related to cardiovascular, pulmonary, and brain health - three organ systems for which tobacco use is a major disease risk factor. METHODS: We examined the cardiovascular, pulmonary, and brain health perceptions of vaping and JUUL on Twitter, followed by a content analysis of tweets pertaining to the cardiovascular risks. A Twitter firehose API scraped about 6.2 million publicly available tweets from 2015-2019 that contained vaping-related terms, and a separate dataset of about 1.9 million tweets that contained the term JUUL. A quantitative content analysis (n=2145) of tweets was subsequently conducted to assess the health perceptions of vaping and JUUL. Two trained coders independently assessed the posts and Twitter profiles to determine age (<18 or ≥18 years), sex, race, sentiment towards JUUL, and vaping-related topics. RESULTS: The majority of tweets containing vaping or JUUL-related terms did not also contain cardiovascular, pulmonary, or brain health terms (97.99% and 96.67%, respectively). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that youth (<18 years), females, non-White individuals, mention of a flavor, and mention of cardiovascular health harm words were associated with more positive sentiments towards JUUL. Pearson's chi-squared analyses indicated that youth were more likely to mention a JUUL flavor. Females and youth were more likely to reference cardiovascular terms with humor. CONCLUSIONS: The cardiovascular health risks of vaping are not fully recognized by the public. Vulnerable populations such as youth and females reference JUUL with cardiovascular-related words that downplay the severity of tobacco as a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
INTRODUCTION: The public most frequently associates tobacco use solely with pulmonary health risks, despite heart disease being the leading cause of death in smokers. The health perceptions of e-cigarettes, especially cardiovascular health, have not been well studied. We aimed to evaluate the prevalence and health perceptions of tweets related to cardiovascular, pulmonary, and brain health - three organ systems for which tobacco use is a major disease risk factor. METHODS: We examined the cardiovascular, pulmonary, and brain health perceptions of vaping and JUUL on Twitter, followed by a content analysis of tweets pertaining to the cardiovascular risks. A Twitter firehose API scraped about 6.2 million publicly available tweets from 2015-2019 that contained vaping-related terms, and a separate dataset of about 1.9 million tweets that contained the term JUUL. A quantitative content analysis (n=2145) of tweets was subsequently conducted to assess the health perceptions of vaping and JUUL. Two trained coders independently assessed the posts and Twitter profiles to determine age (<18 or ≥18 years), sex, race, sentiment towards JUUL, and vaping-related topics. RESULTS: The majority of tweets containing vaping or JUUL-related terms did not also contain cardiovascular, pulmonary, or brain health terms (97.99% and 96.67%, respectively). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that youth (<18 years), females, non-White individuals, mention of a flavor, and mention of cardiovascular health harm words were associated with more positive sentiments towards JUUL. Pearson's chi-squared analyses indicated that youth were more likely to mention a JUUL flavor. Females and youth were more likely to reference cardiovascular terms with humor. CONCLUSIONS: The cardiovascular health risks of vaping are not fully recognized by the public. Vulnerable populations such as youth and females reference JUUL with cardiovascular-related words that downplay the severity of tobacco as a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
Authors: Nicholas D Buchanan; Jacob A Grimmer; Vineeta Tanwar; Neill Schwieterman; Peter J Mohler; Loren E Wold Journal: Cardiovasc Res Date: 2020-01-01 Impact factor: 10.787
Authors: Benjamin W Chaffee; Stuart A Gansky; Bonnie Halpern-Felsher; Elizabeth T Couch; Gwen Essex; Margaret M Walsh Journal: Am J Health Behav Date: 2015-05
Authors: Anna V Song; Holly E R Morrell; Jodi L Cornell; Malena E Ramos; Michael Biehl; Rhonda Y Kropp; Bonnie L Halpern-Felsher Journal: Am J Public Health Date: 2008-12-23 Impact factor: 9.308
Authors: Elise M Stevens; Emily T Hébert; Alayna P Tackett; Eleanor L S Leavens; Theodore L Wagener Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2020-07-02 Impact factor: 3.390
Authors: Lauren Sinnenberg; Christie L DiSilvestro; Christina Mancheno; Karl Dailey; Christopher Tufts; Alison M Buttenheim; Fran Barg; Lyle Ungar; H Schwartz; Dana Brown; David A Asch; Raina M Merchant Journal: JAMA Cardiol Date: 2016-12-01 Impact factor: 14.676
Authors: Su Golder; Robin Stevens; Karen O'Connor; Richard James; Graciela Gonzalez-Hernandez Journal: J Med Internet Res Date: 2022-04-29 Impact factor: 7.076