A study by the University of Minnesota in the US says changing the packaging of E-cigarettes（Heated Tobacco & Vaping） could reduce young people’s interest.

In recent years, the popularity of flavored E-cigarette products among young people has become a growing concern, foreign media reported. Many of the campaigns to reduce the popularity of these products include banning non-tobacco flavors. These campaigns often fail to take into account that adult smokers who want to quit are using them, including flavored products as an alternative form of nicotine, which has a lower toxic exposure.

Researchers at the University of Minnesota are exploring whether changing the packaging of E-cigarette(HNB tabak Chinese supplier) products could reduce young people’s interest in them.

The study, published in Nicotine & Tobacco Research, set out to determine whether removing flavor images and colors from E-cigarette(Heated herbal heatsticks) packaging would make the product less attractive to middle school students. Researchers asked 176 young people to review different types of E-cigarette packaging and answer questions that measured their risk perception, novelty perception, susceptibility and behavioral intent.

The study found:

1. According to the perception of packaging participants, there is no difference in risk perception.

2. However, novelty (e.g., how interesting, interesting) and sensitivity to vaping were highest for participants who viewed fruit-flavored vape products with flavor colors and flavor images.

3. Participants who viewed fruit-flavored vape products with flavor colors and flavor images reported higher novelty and sensitivity than participants who viewed fruit-flavored vape products without flavor colors and flavor images.

4. The appearance of fruit-flavored products without flavor color and flavor image reduces the appeal of the products among young people.

5. Adolescents who reported lower risk perception and higher susceptibility had higher intention to use e-cigarettes in the next year.

“Regulatory and public health strategies to reduce young people’s interest in e-cigarettes are critical.” Sherri Jean Katz, an assistant professor at the Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication who specializes in health communication. “This study shows that we can reduce young people’s interest in these products by changing the packaging.”

Future research should test changes in flavor presentation in adult smokers to determine whether removing the fruit-flavored colors and images affects how they view these products and whether they still see them as an alternative to cigarettes. More research is needed to test how marketing restrictions on e-cigarette products fit into a larger regulatory environment.

The research was supported by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health and the Center for Tobacco Products of the FDA.