How Do Vape Advertising Campaigns Affect Consumers’ Vaping Tendency? A Meta-Analytic Investigation

Abstract

The objective of this research is to help reconcile the mixed findings on the effect of vape advertising campaigns on consumers’ vaping tendency. In a meta-analysis of 43 papers (140 studies, with 77,452 observations; 33% women, 67% men; Mage = 30.5 years), this research shows that in situations where perceived risk is less salient (e.g., social media vs. traditional advertising, ads using picture-dominant vs. text-dominant cues, adolescents vs. adults, nonsmokers vs. smokers), the positive effect of vape advertising campaigns on consumers’ vaping tendency is stronger. In addition, this research provides evidence that vape advertising campaigns reduce, rather than increase, smokers’ tendency to quit smoking, which is contradictory to the claims made by vaping product manufacturers. The authors discuss the theoretical contributions of those findings and provide specific tools that policy makers can use to combat the influence of vape advertising campaigns. Potential limitations and future research directions are also discussed.