DJ Khaled, Halsey, and other musicians are selling e-cigarettes and promoting vaping to young people through product placement in music videos that receive hundreds of millions of views online. According to two new studies, music videos identified as featuring e-cigarette product placements during four months in 2018 got more than 1.6 billion total views on YouTube.
The videos feature female models using vaping products and exhaling clouds of vapor. In one scene, DJ Khaled himself uses an e-cigarette and blows a puff of vapor into the camera. The music videos were flagged as promoting vaping.
What the Study Showed
Researchers at USC’s Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles said they were surprised at just how long and wide the reach of these music videos can be. A second study says exposure to glamorous images of e-cigarette use does have an impact on a young person’s decision to vape.
Young adults who recalled seeing e-cigarette use in a music video they watched were nearly three times more likely to report trying an e-cigarette and more than three times as likely to have vaped in the past month compared to those never exposed to such images.
In the first study, researchers reviewed 180 official music videos from the Billboard Hot 100 song list between June and September 2018, looking specifically for ones that contained cigarette product placement and were promoting vaping.
Researchers found only seven music videos that featured vaping or about 4% of the videos reviewed. Six featured e-cigarette use and one showed an aerosol cloud. The second study surveyed 1,280 young adults 18 to 24 to see if these music videos had any influence.
Dangers of E-Cigarettes
E-cigarettes have no doubt surged in popularity with young people especially because they have been marketed as “cool” and as a safer alternative to regular cigarettes. The U.S. Surgeon General has called the increase of e-cigarette use among young people a public health epidemic and scientists are worried it could reverse decades of hard work on tobacco use. In addition to adverse health effects, our lawyers have also represented those who have been seriously injured after the e-cigarettes exploded.
Suppose you or a loved one has been adversely affected after using e-cigarettes or have been injured after an e-cigarette exploded or caught fire. In that case, you may be able to seek compensation for your injuries, damages, and losses. An experienced California personal injury lawyer will be able to understand your legal rights and options better.
Source: https://consumer.healthday.com/4-12-singers-models-in-music-videos-are-getting-kids-vaping-2651377147.html
