While TikTok videos promoting rule-breaking, humor, and sharing of vaping experiences garner millions of likes, trusted medical resources often fail to capture young people’s attention, highlighting growing challenges in public health communication.
Research: #NoIDVape: Content analysis of illegal vaping messages in youth information sources. Image credit: Sophon Nawit/Shutterstock.com
Vaping is a rapidly growing trend among young people in the UK, but little is known about illegal, or unregulated, vaping or electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use. Recent research published in journals addiction I looked into it How illegal e-cigarettes are portrayed in TikTok videos and educational resources that young people may encounter online.
E-cigarette use among young people is increasing despite tightening regulations
The use of e-cigarettes among young people has increased sharply in recent years, raising concerns from public health authorities in the UK. According to the latest figures cited by the authors, about one in five 11- to 17-year-olds have tried e-cigarettes, while 7% were current users, a marked increase from previous estimates when less than 1% reported regular use. This trend has raised concerns that early exposure to e-cigarettes may increase the risk of nicotine dependence in young people.
In response, UK regulators tightened regulations on e-cigarette products. It is illegal to sell e-cigarettes to under-18s, disposable e-cigarettes are banned, and the government has introduced measures aimed at preventing e-cigarette marketing from appealing to children. However, despite these safeguards, access by minors remains common, raising concerns about the availability of illegal vaping products.
In the UK, illegal e-cigarettes refer to devices that do not comply with regulations governing nicotine strength, tank size, product notifications and health warnings. Some exceed the legal nicotine limit of 20 mg/mL, while others are counterfeit products manufactured outside of regulated supply chains.
These devices can pose additional health risks beyond regulatory violations, especially if they contain undisclosed substances. Investigations have identified counterfeit e-cigarettes containing psychoactive compounds such as delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and the synthetic cannabinoid Spice, raising concerns that young users may be unknowingly inhaling them.
TikTok becomes an important source of vaping information
Previous research showed that 808 TikTok videos promoting e-cigarettes had a staggering 1.5 billion views. This suggests that young people are being heavily exposed to content that actively promotes e-cigarettes through humor, sensory appeals, and e-cigarette tricks. This desensitizes viewers to the potential and risks of nicotine addiction and normalizes vaping, both legal and illegal.
Essentially, this works similarly to marketing content that appeals to young people, subverting existing marketing guidelines and allowing you to avoid detection by new hashtags.
Educational resources also explain the risks of e-cigarettes, but their content has not been systematically analyzed. The current study aims to provide a comparative analysis of the representation and organizational messaging of illicit e-cigarettes on TikTok, a leading social media platform.
Most of today’s young people get their information through social media, and their feeds are largely determined by algorithms. Conversely, public health messages aimed at this age group still rely on websites. The findings could reveal “a potential disconnect between regulated institutional messages aimed at young people and the content they encounter in everyday digital spaces.”
Comparing TikTok trends and health messaging
The researchers used Google to search health and education websites that provide information about illegal e-cigarettes, as well as publicly available TikTok videos, using eight hashtags related to illegal e-cigarettes, including “#NoIDVape” and “#puffbundles.” To ensure that the findings reflected real-world search experiences, young people with real-life experience with e-cigarettes were involved.
This study found significant contrasts in the way illicit e-cigarette content is presented between the two resource types.
TikTok videos
They found 58 TikTok videos featuring illegal e-cigarettes. Almost half (47%) described it positively (trivializing and glorifying it), 31% neutrally and 22% negatively.
Videos categorized as “information and education” content were often presented as news reports discussing issues related to illegal e-cigarettes, such as health hazards, laws, age restrictions, and accessibility. Sensationalism and extreme examples often characterize such videos.
A video depicting illegal e-cigarettes in a positive light received 5 million likes. However, the authors point out that informational videos, including those dealing with e-cigarette laws, underage sales, and health hazards, also received millions of likes, indicating a significant online reach.
However, researchers note that viewer demographics were not studied, meaning interest in these videos may not be coming from just young people.
Nine major themes appeared in the video. Videos may belong to multiple themes. The most common themes, with over 21 million likes, were apathy towards the law (57%), entertainment/humor (50%), and subcultures and shared experiences (50%).
In these categories, videos promoted illegal e-cigarettes as a socially acceptable practice. The content creator clearly didn’t care about following the law and presented illegal e-cigarettes as part of an emerging rebellious subculture. Such videos typically celebrated illegal vaping as fun, engaging, and part of the rule-breaking behavior (36%). These videos look homemade and funny, and have received a total of 24.5 million likes as of February 20, 2025.
TikTok shared tips on how users can circumvent minor bans and regulatory oversight. Videos typically showed how to circumvent vaping laws (48% of videos) or how to keep vaping-related activities secret from authorities or parents (40%). Many used TikTok to expand their businesses, offering vapes as part of bundles that included sweets and cosmetics, or selling them without age verification.
Educational and institutional resources
Accurate content about vaping
Official and educational sites often provided socially responsible, high-quality content from established sources. Most were digital information guides or web pages with detailed information about e-cigarettes (89%). However, only 63% reported sufficient coverage of illicit vaping, mostly for a very short period of time, and only 17% rated good coverage of the risks of this practice.
These paragraphs addressed dangerous chemicals in e-cigarettes, including toxic metals such as lead and chromium, and the associated risks of cancer and other illnesses. Some mentioned regulations regarding e-cigarettes and the value of e-cigarettes in smoking cessation. They also discussed the risks of nicotine addiction.
A single resource outlines how to detect illegal e-cigarettes, including indicators such as excessive number of puffs and packaging that does not comply with health regulations.
Irrelevant or unappealing content formats
In contrast to engaging TikTok videos, only about 40% of educational resources were rated “good” or better when measured for relevance and appeal to young people. The highest-rated sites used color, animation, and interactivity to engage users. They also used effective tactics to engage users, such as questions starting with “Did you know?”
They provided the necessary information without jargon, using the language young people share to increase engagement.
Conversely, dense and text-heavy resources were rated poorly, as were resources that focused primarily on legal compliance. These often presented rules in an overly simplistic or moralistic manner.
While educational resources were generally accurate, evidence-based, and often rated as of high quality overall, they tended to be serious in content and provided little information about the health risks of illicit e-cigarettes.
Public health messaging struggles to match TikTok
The authors suggest that TikTok may be contributing to an illegal vaping subculture where young people exchange tips on accessing and using e-cigarettes while circumventing regulations. In contrast, while accurate and useful public health information is available, the issue of illicit e-cigarettes, rather than youth-related forms, is largely ignored.
The preponderance of adolescents’ exposure to TikTok and other similar content may contribute to a one-sided view of illicit e-cigarettes as normal, romantic, or adventurous while downplaying the risks. The authors suggest that laws and regulations alone, including the measures proposed in the Tobacco and Vaping Bill, may be insufficient to address the growing prevalence of illicit e-cigarettes without effective mass messaging targeting youth.
“These findings highlight the need for educational resources for young people as they reposition themselves as experts who co-create impactful and relevant content.”
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