An Analysis of Electronic Cigarette and Cigarette Advertising in US Women’s Magazines

Abstract

Background: Traditional cigarette advertising has existed in the US for over 200 years. Studies
suggest that advertising has an impact on the initiation and maintenance of smoking behaviors.
In recent years, electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) emerged on the market as an alternative to
the traditional tobacco cigarette. The purpose of this study was to describe advertisements in
popular US magazines marketed to women for cigarettes and e-cigarettes.
Methods: This study involved analyzing 99 issues of 14 popular US magazines marketed to
women.
Results: Compared to advertisements for traditional cigarettes, advertisements for e-cigarettes
were more often found in magazines geared toward the 31–40-year-old audience (76.5% vs.
53.1%, P = 0.011) whereas traditional cigarette advertisements were nearly equally distributed
among women 31–40 and ≥40 years. More than three-quarters of the e-cigarette advertisements
presented in magazines aimed at the higher median income households compared to a balanced
distribution by income for traditional cigarettes (P = 0.033).
Conclusions: Future studies should focus on specific marketing tactics used to promote
e-cigarette use as this product increases in popularity, especially among young women smokers.

Keywords: Advertising, cigarette, electronic cigarette, magazines, women