You Quit Two Quit

Supporting comprehensive tobacco use screening and cessation counseling for women of reproductive age, before, between and beyond pregnancy.

tobacco trends

Help us create a new women’s health digital media campaign

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Are you a woman, 18-35 years old, living in North Carolina?

The UNC Center for Maternal & Infant Health would like to get your opinions about messages we have made about e-cigarettes and vaping. Your input will help us understand how women like you will react to the advertisements.

What is involved in this research study?

  • You will take part in a focus group or individual interview that will take no more than 90 minutes.
  • We will ask you what you know about e-cigarettes and what you think about the advertisements we show you.
  • Privately, we will ask you some questions about you such as your age, ethnicity, education, whether you are pregnant and/or have kids, and whether you have ever used tobacco products.
  • At the end of the focus group or interview, you will receive a $50 gift card.
  • We will assign you a study ID number that will be used instead of your name to keep your responses confidential.

NOW SCHEDULING Online & In-Person Meeting Times: 

  • Thursday, March 21st – 12-1:30 pm
  • Thursday, March 28th – 12-1:30 pm
  • Tuesday, April 2nd – 7-8:30 pm
Additional times can be arranged by request. We are happy to travel to groups/organizations for the 90-min session as well.

Interested in Participating? Please Contact: Jaimie Lea, MPH, IBCLC, UNC Center for Maternal and Infant Health

Call Jaimie with questions: (919) 843-7863

The primary investigator for this study is Erin K. McClain, MA, MPH, Assistant Director, UNC Center for Maternal & Infant Health, Chapel Hill, NC (Phone: 919-808-0989, erin_mcclain@unc.edu).

Why do people use electronic nicotine delivery systems (electronic cigarettes)? A content analysis of Twitter, 2012-2015

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John W. Ayers, Eric C. Leas, et al., 2017

In this study, the authors dove into Twitter to explore reasons why consumers choose electronic cigarettes. Combing through original tweets, while omitting retweets, ads, and spam, the authors developed a representational sample of 2,900 tweets per year for each of the years in question. Between 2012 and 2015, the top reasons cited for ENDS use flipped: in 2012, a 43% of all “reasons for vaping” related to quitting cigarettes or traditional tobacco products. 21% of tweets dealt with issues of social image—the idea that “vaping is cool.” By 2015, tobacco cessation was cited in only 29% of sample tweets while social image accounted for 37% of all reasons for vaping. The authors suggest that the growing social acceptability of vaping, per their twitter research, mirrors how ENDS marketing has changed. Their novel approach to understanding a dynamic public health trend shows how rapidly perception and use of ENDS has changed, even within the past three years. While Twitter is an imperfect medium to study social trends, they hope their research will help future scientists “ask the right questions” about ENDS use. It may also help public health advocates and medical practitioners understand the motivations of ENDS users, ask the right questions, and provide relevant info on the the risks and impacts of ENDS.

Read the full article here: Ayers, Leas, et al. 2017