A Boston University study shows that 87% of promotional posts for vape brands on Instagram do not comply with FDA health warnings, an FDA guideline that requires health risk warnings to be placed at the top of the post and that the warning message should be no smaller than 20% of the area of the entire brochure.
87% of vape brands’ Instagram posts violate FDA warnings
A Boston University academic recently published a new study stating that the majority of promotional posts from 25 vape brands posted on Instagram violated FDA guidelines. The guidelines require that a health risk warning be placed at the top of the post and that the warning message area be no smaller than 20 percent of the entire brochure.
F Traci Hong, co-author of this exploration and a professor at Boston University (Traci Hong) stated that:
- “Social media is an open marketplace, and major brands are promoting these products without informing consumers of their hazards.
Hong and her colleagues analyzed more than 2,000 posts from vape brands posted on Instagram and used an image-recognition artificial intelligence model to check whether the posts contained the required warning messages and whether the size of the warning messages complied with the law. The study showed that only 13% of the posts met both requirements.
Boston University study
According to the study, Instagram posts that followed FDA rules had fewer interactions than posts that did not:
- “People rarely praise or comment on these compliant posts. They’re thinking about whether these products are right for them – that’s the nature of health warnings.”
Hong made it clear that for solutions:
- “I think social media companies should create a policy that requires the promotion of vape brands to inform users of the dangers of tobacco.”
Instagram’s headquarters, Meta, did not respond to Fasta at the time of this report’s release. About the Company’s request for comment. But Hong isn’t just blaming social media. She noted that vapes are designed to appeal to younger users.
- “The fact that you have a product that looks like technology, we don’t usually think technology is bad for us because we embrace it. But we need to let people know that these seemingly harmless things have real risks.”
