Media coverage of ENDS around the world is much more likely to be negative than positive, and to focus on health effects rather than e-cigs’ use in smoking cessation, a new study suggests.
But the large-scale analysis of more than 50,000 news items also uncovers some more surprising patterns – for example, that flavours are hardly written about at all despite being so frequently cited in discussions of youth vaping.
“Our findings highlight several disconnects between the scientific community’s priorities and the potential areas of concern among the public,” the Californian academics who conducted the study said.
“While researchers, particularly in the United States, often cite flavor restrictions as a pressing area of ENDS regulations given that flavors are banned in other tobacco products, news reporters are not spreading this same message.”
Barnaby Page
Editorial director
Before joining ECigIntelligence in early 2014 as one of its first employees, Barnaby had a 30-year career as a reporter and editor for newspapers, magazines and online services, working in Canada, the US and the Middle East as well as his current British location. He has edited publications covering fields including technology and the advertising industry, and was launch editor of the first large daily online news service in the British regional media. Barnaby also writes on classical music and film for a number of publications.
Barnaby manages the editorial and reporting teams and works closely with the analyst teams, to ensure that all content meets high standards of quality and relevance. He also writes for the site occasionally, mostly on science-related issues, and is a member of the Association of British Science Writers.