You are here

Article Text

Article menu
Download PDFPDF
Brief report
Characteristics of Cheyenne little filtered cigar Instagram ads, 2019–2020
  1. Erin L Mead-Morse1,
  2. Cristine D Delnevo2,
  3. Binu Singh2,
  4. Olivia A Wackowski2
  1. 1 Department of Medicine, UConn Health, Farmington, Connecticut, USA
  2. 2 Center for Tobacco Studies, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA
  1. Correspondence to Dr Olivia A Wackowski, Center for Tobacco Studies, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA; wackowol{at}cts.rutgers.edu

Abstract

Introduction Little is known about little filtered cigar (LFC) marketing on social media. We examined the characteristics of Instagram posts by Cheyenne—a popular LFC brand—from 2019 to 2020.

Methods We conducted a content analysis of 323 images posted in 2019 and 2020. Descriptive statistics were examined, and χ2 and Fisher’s exact tests were used to test differences by year.

Results Most posts (76.0%) showed ≥1 pack and/or LFC stick, which look highly similar to cigarette packs and sticks. The pack was often flavoured (62.2%). Images of lit LFC sticks increased from 2019 (12.2%) to 2020 (26.7%, p=0.005). Warning labels were present on the ad in 79.9% of posts, but always at the bottom, and used the same single warning statement that they are not a safe alternative to cigarettes. The depiction of people nearly doubled from 2019 (18.1%) to 2020 (34.8%, p=0.001), and women (50.6%) were more commonly depicted than men (32.1%). Popular depictions and themes included the outdoors (57.6%) and seasonal imagery (36.2%) among others.

Discussion Cheyenne actively used Instagram to market its product and grow its brand. Posts seemed designed to promote the similarity of their LFC to cigarettes, through depictions of cig-a-like packs/sticks. Although warning labels were prevalent on Cheyenne Instagram posts, the warnings were not compliant with FDA warning guidelines and might have been counterproductive by emphasising their viability as cigarette alternatives rather than their dangerous health effects. Future surveillance is needed, and regulation of LFC advertising on social media may be warranted.

  • Advertising and Promotion
  • Media
  • Non-cigarette tobacco products
  • Packaging and Labelling
  • Social marketing

https://doi.org/10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2022-057336

Statistics from Altmetric.com

    Request Permissions

    If you wish to reuse any or all of this article please use the link below which will take you to the Copyright Clearance Center’s RightsLink service. You will be able to get a quick price and instant permission to reuse the content in many different ways.

    View Full Text

    Footnotes

    • Contributors ELM contributed to the study design (including instrument development) and manuscript writing and editing. CDD contributed to study design/conceptualisation, obtained study funding and contributed to manuscript writing and editing. BS contributed to the study design, data coding and analysis. OAW contributed to study design/conceptualisation, obtained study funding, led data analysis and contributed to manuscript writing and editing.

    • Funding This work was supported by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under Award Number U54CA229973. Contributions by ELM were supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the FDA under Award Number K01DA048494.

    • Disclaimer The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funding organisations.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

    • Supplemental material This content has been supplied by the author(s). It has not been vetted by BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) and may not have been peer-reviewed. Any opinions or recommendations discussed are solely those of the author(s) and are not endorsed by BMJ. BMJ disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on the content. Where the content includes any translated material, BMJ does not warrant the accuracy and reliability of the translations (including but not limited to local regulations, clinical guidelines, terminology, drug names and drug dosages), and is not responsible for any error and/or omissions arising from translation and adaptation or otherwise.