PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Study finds discreet shipping used to sell e-cigarettes to minors

Researchers at the U of A found businesses on TikTok are circumventing local, state and federal laws that restrict the individual sale of tobacco products

Study finds discreet shipping used to sell e-cigarettes to minors
2024-05-24
(Press-News.org) Researchers at the U of A found self-identified small business owners on TikTok are circumventing a number of local, state and federal laws that restrict the individual sale of tobacco products. Specifically, the researchers found that 45% of the videos highlighted the fact that they did not require identification to verify the purchaser’s age.

“Many states have laws that govern procedures necessary to sell e-cigarettes,” explained lead researcher Page Dobbs, an associate professor of public health in the Department of Health, Human Performance and Recreation in the College of Education and Health Professions. “For example, many U.S. states require a tobacco retail license to sell tobacco products, and in the U.S., e-cigarettes are considered tobacco products. The videos we found display people across the world who are selling e-cigarettes. For those sold in the U.S., this displays illegal sales happening on TikTok.”

The researchers analyzed 367 videos on TikTok’s #discreetshipping, #puffbundle and #hiddennic pages, which had a combined 55.8 million views as of 2023. Fifty percent of the videos promoted certain brands in their hashtag, and 45% mentioned a cannabis product such as Cake Bars. Several described that they would bundle (28.6%) or hide (8.7%) the e-cigarette within other products to conceal it from being viewed when opened. This type of discreet shipping was intended to evade detection by the USPS service or parents/guardians who may intercept e-cigarettes purchased by youth. 

Over half (57.5%) of the videos directed users to Instagram or another method (58.3%) using a link or account information to sell the e-cigarette products. Other sites used to complete the sale of the e-cigarettes included Telegram, personal websites and other money transfer services. 

“Parents need to be aware that youth may be buying e-cigarettes through TikTok,” Dobbs said. “Parents can ask to view their children’s ‘For You’ page to see the type of content that is commonly portrayed. Next, if your child receives a bundle of fake nails, eyelashes, lip gloss or even something that seems out of the norm, such as house shoes, open the products and inspect it thoroughly. It may be inside a scrunchy that zips or in the foot of a pair of house shoes.”

Finally, regarding public policy, Dobbs says, “While platforms list their tobacco marketing and sale policies on their website, all content identified in our study violated these policies. Restricting TikTok will not stop people from illegally selling e-cigarettes to youth. Instead, tobacco control agencies can work collaboratively with platforms to use technological advances that will close hashtags, detect illegal activity and identify violations.”

 

END

[Attachments] See images for this press release:
Study finds discreet shipping used to sell e-cigarettes to minors Study finds discreet shipping used to sell e-cigarettes to minors 2 Study finds discreet shipping used to sell e-cigarettes to minors 3

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

African scientists call for equitable research partnerships to advance microbiome research

2024-05-24
Leading African scientists have issued a compelling call for more equitable research partnerships in a new paper published in Nature Medicine. The paper underscores the critical need for fair and collaborative research efforts to explore the unique and diverse microbiomes found in African populations and environments. Historically, these microbiomes have been underrepresented in global studies. Over the past two decades, our understanding of the role played by the microbiome in different ecosystems has significantly expanded. For ...

How COVID-19 'breakthrough' infections alter your immune cells

How COVID-19 breakthrough infections alter your immune cells
2024-05-24
LA JOLLA, CA—New research from scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) suggests people who received COVID-19 vaccines and then experienced "breakthrough" infections are especially well armed against future SARS-CoV-2 infections. By analyzing blood samples from study volunteers, the LJI researchers discovered that people who experienced symptomatic breakthrough infections develop T cells that are better at recognizing and targeting SARS-CoV-2, including the Omicron and Delta variants. The researchers describe this increased protection as an "immunity wall." "The virus evolves, but, importantly, so does the immune system. T cells ...

Virginia Tech entomologist sheds light on 250-year-old mystery of the German cockroach

Virginia Tech entomologist sheds light on 250-year-old mystery of the German cockroach
2024-05-24
May 24, 2024 -- A team of international scientists, including Virginia Tech entomologist Warren Booth, have solved the 250-year-old origin puzzle of the most prevalent indoor urban pest insect on the planet: the German cockroach. The team's research findings, representing the genomic analyses of over 280 specimens from 17 countries and six continents, show that this species evolved some 2,100 years ago from an outside species in Asia and were released this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal.  One ...

Advancing skin science: explore Skin Ageing & Challenges 2024 Strategic Topics in Malta this November

Advancing skin science: explore Skin Ageing & Challenges 2024 Strategic Topics in Malta this November
2024-05-24
Get introduced to the latest advances in skin research at the 15th International Conference on Skin Ageing & Challenges 2024 on November 5-6 at Corinthia Palace in Malta. Skin Ageing & Challenges 2024 will cover the hottest topics shaping the future of skin aging and rejuvenation. How will Skin Ageing & Challenges 2024 Expand Your Knowledge? Senolytics: Exploring new ways to fight cell aging with innovative senolytic treatments. Extracellular Vesicles: Discovering the potential of EVs for skin regeneration and repair. Skin Microbiota / Mitochondria Transplantation: Introducing approaches to harness the power of microbiome and mitochondrial transplantation ...

Controlling water, transforming greenhouse gases

Controlling water, transforming greenhouse gases
2024-05-24
Carbon dioxide is the greenhouse gas, singlehandedly responsible for 78% of the change in energy balance in Earth's atmosphere between 1990 and 2022. A byproduct of burning fossil fuels, carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere from car exhaust and coal-fired power plants. Even some renewable energy resources produce a small amount of carbon dioxide, although at a tiny fraction of the amount coal and natural gas create. At its core, this molecule is just an arrangement of one carbon and two oxygen atoms that can be reorganized through a ...

MSK Research Highlights, May 24, 2024

MSK Research Highlights, May 24, 2024
2024-05-24
New research from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) investigates a promising approach against diabetic retinopathy and finds patients with early-onset colorectal cancer likely don’t need more frequent surveillance colonoscopies. Anti-ceramide immunotherapy promising against diabetic retinopathy, animal studies suggest Diabetic retinopathy is a condition that affects blood vessels in people with diabetes and can cause blindness. Now a new study from a team at MSK, Michigan State University, and the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center shows that diabetic retinopathy can be considered a “ceramidopathy” — which ...

ASCO: Large precision oncology study identifies differences in prostate cancer genomics among a racially and ethnically diverse cohort of U.S. veterans

2024-05-24
FINDINGS A new study led by a UCLA-VA collaborative team looking at the landscape of genomic alterations in more than 5,000 veterans with metastatic prostate cancer uncovered differences in the genomic makeup of cancer cells that were associated with race and ethnicity.  Although the team found that a similar set of cancer-related genes were altered in both non-Hispanic Black and non-Hispanic white veterans, the frequencies that these alterations were observed at varied significantly ...

ASCO: Combination therapy significantly improves outcomes for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer

2024-05-24
FINDINGS A study led by UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers found that using a combination of experimental immunotherapy drugs with chemotherapy significantly improves progression-free survival and overall survival for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer who have previously undergone standard chemotherapy treatment when compared to those who received the targeted therapy regorafenib alone. The median progression-free survival, which is the amount of time during and after treatment when the cancer does not worsen or progress, with the combination treatment was 6.2 months compared to 2.1 months for those ...

Euclid space mission releases first scientific results and new images of the cosmos

Euclid space mission releases first scientific results and new images of the cosmos
2024-05-24
European space mission Euclid has released early scientific papers based on observations made by the space telescope, along with five new astronomical images of the Universe, as the project sets about unravelling the secrets of the cosmos. The new images are part of Euclid’s Early Release Observations (EROs) and accompany the mission’s first scientific data and 10 forthcoming science papers. Their publication comes less than a year after the space telescope’s launch and some six months after it returned its first full-colour ...

Sociodemographic heterogeneity in the associations of social isolation with mortality

2024-05-24
About The Study: Social isolation was associated with increased risks of all-cause, cardiovascular diseases, and malignant neoplasm mortality, with associations varying across populations. This study fills an important gap in research on social isolation, emphasizing its varied associations across demographic and socioeconomic groups.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Atsushi Nakagomi, M.D., Ph.D., email anakagomi0211@gmail.com. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.13132) Editor’s Note: Please ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Laser correction for short-sightedness is safe and effective for older teenagers

About one in five people taking Ozempic, Wegovy or Mounjaro say food tastes saltier or sweeter than before

Taking semaglutide turns down food noise, research suggests

Type 2 diabetes may double risk of sepsis, large community-based study suggests

New quantum sensors can withstand extreme pressure

Tirzepatide more cost-effective than semaglutide in patients with knee osteoarthritis and obesity

GLP-1 drugs shown cost-effective for knee osteoarthritis and obesity

Interactive apps, AI chatbots promote playfulness, reduce privacy concerns

How NIL boosts college football’s competitive balance

Moffitt researchers develop machine learning model to predict urgent care visits for lung cancer patients

Construction secrets of honeybees: Study reveals how bees build hives in tricky spots

Wheat disease losses total $2.9 billion across the United States and Canada between 2018 and 2021

New funding fuels development of first potentially regenerative treatment for multiple sclerosis

NJIT student–faculty team wins best presentation award for ant swarm simulation

Ants defend plants from herbivores but can hinder pollination

When the wireless data runs dry

Inquiry into the history of science shows an early “inherence” bias

Picky eaters endure: Ecologists use DNA to explore diet breadth of wild herbivores

Study suggests most Americans would be healthier without daylight saving time

Increasing the level of the protein PI31 demonstrates neuroprotective effects in mice

Multi-energy X-ray curved surface imaging-with multi-layer in-situ grown scintillators

Metasurface enables compact and high-sensitivity atomic magnetometer

PFAS presence confirmed in the blood of children in Gipuzkoa

Why do people believe lies?

SwRI installs private 5G network for research, development, testing and evaluation

A new perspective in bone metabolism: Targeting the lysosome–iron–mitochondria axis for osteoclast regulation

Few military spouses use formal support services during, after deployment

Breakthrough in the hunt for light dark matter: QROCODILE project reveals world-leading constraints

2D x-ray imaging technique reveals hidden processes in CO2 electrolyzers

Rational high entropy doping strategy via modular in-situ/post solvothermal doping integration for microwave absorption

[Press-News.org] Study finds discreet shipping used to sell e-cigarettes to minors
Researchers at the U of A found businesses on TikTok are circumventing local, state and federal laws that restrict the individual sale of tobacco products