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Electronic nicotine delivery systems in Nigeria: product types, flavours and nicotine content labels
  1. Olufemi A Erinoso1,
  2. Olatokunbo Osibogun2,
  3. Catherine O Egbe3,4,
  4. Ololade Wright5,
  5. Afolabi Oyapero6,
  6. Akin Osibogun7
  1. 1 School of Public Health, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada, USA
  2. 2 Department of Epidemiology, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, USA
  3. 3 Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
  4. 4 Department of Public Health, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
  5. 5 Department of Community Health and Primary Health Care, Lagos State University College of Medicine, Ojo, Nigeria
  6. 6 Department of Preventive Dentistry, Lagos State University College of Medicine, Ojo, Nigeria
  7. 7 Department of Community Health and Primary Health Care, University of Lagos, Akoka, Nigeria
  1. Correspondence to Dr Olufemi A Erinoso, Division of Social and Behavioral Health, School of Public Health, University of Nevada, Reno, Reno NV 89557, Nevada, United States; oerinoso{at}nevada.unr.edu

https://doi.org/10.1136/tc-2022-057578

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    Introduction

    Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS; e-cigarettes) products are penetrating markets in low/middle-income countries (LMICs) with limited regulations and information on industry activity.1 2 For example, the prevalence of e-cigarette ever-use is estimated at 7.9% among adolescents and young adults in Lagos, the most populous city in Nigeria.3 Although these rates are not as high as combustible cigarettes, the absence of specific regulations provides the potential for growth in ENDS use. Currently, data on these products are skewed towards high-income countries like the USA, Canada and the UK.4 There is limited research on how these products are marketed in sub-Saharan African countries like Nigeria, with significant numbers of young and upwardly mobile youth. Access to digital marketing has increased in Nigeria, as in most LMICs, in the past decade, and this has not gone unnoticed by the industry.5 For example, recent reports from tobacco control advocates in Nigeria indicate industry has been promoting tobacco products in contravention of local policies using digital media.5 ENDS products are not covered by existing tobacco control policies and are regulated as general consumer products in Nigeria.6 Further, information is scarce on ENDS product types and e-liquids available. Understanding ENDS online retail marketing may help regulators better forecast the impact of regulatory oversight in Nigeria. This study advances research about the online retail environment for ENDS in relatively understudied markets by surveying online retailers that sell ENDS in Nigeria and assessing product types and e-liquids.

    Methodology

    We surveyed ENDS products available via online retailers in Nigeria as of June 2022. We identified …

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    Footnotes

    • Twitter @olufemierinoso

    • Contributors OAE, OO, AOyapero and AOsibogun conceptualised the study. OAE, OO, AOyapero, OW and COE planned the study. OAE, OO and OW conducted data management. OAE, OO and COE analysed the data. OAE and OO wrote the first draft. All authors revised the first draft and approved the final draft.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • 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.