Grant Details
Grant Number: |
3R01CA234082-02S1 Interpret this number |
Primary Investigator: |
Kostygina, Ganna |
Organization: |
National Opinion Research Center |
Project Title: |
Assessing the Effects of Smokeless Tobacco Influencer Marketing in the Rapidly Changing Media Environment |
Fiscal Year: |
2020 |
Abstract
PROJECT SUMMARY
This application is being submitted in response to the Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) identified as NOT-CA-
20-039. The parent grant (1R01CA234082-01A1) aimed to evaluate the impact of social media advertising and
influencer marketing of smokeless products on attitudes, beliefs, and use of smokeless products. Alcohol-related
themes are common in smokeless tobacco conversations on social media and understanding the impact of
exposure to this content can provide meaningful insights for tobacco control and alcohol use and abuse research.
Social media data can serve as valuable measures of targeted marketing, public communication environment
and norms, as well as other previously unmeasured contextual factors associated with health outcomes, yet, to
date, no studies have examined the population level impact of alcohol-themed smokeless tobacco (ATST) social
media marketing on initiation, use and co-use of smokeless tobacco and alcoholic beverage products, generally,
or among youth in particular. The overall goal of the proposed project is thus to assess the amount and
characterize the themes and sources of ATST posts on social media, as well as analyze the relationship between
potential exposure to ATST social media messages on initiation, use and co-use of smokeless tobacco and
alcohol products, with a particular focus on youth. This project will enhance the goal of parent R01 by examining
youth- and new user marketing strategies at a finer grain by specifically focusing on alcohol-flavored smokeless
product promotion and alcohol-themed promotion. This proposal is directly relevant to the NOT-CA-20-039
announcement and consistent with the intent of the Administrative Supplement as it will engage additional
resources, data sources, and expertise, as well as take advantage of NORC’s existing analytical infrastructure
and experience in social media research to examine digital marketing environment influences on initiation and
co-use of alcohol and tobacco in youth. We will conduct linked analyses of two existing data sets: 1) social media
data related to ATST marketing, 2) survey data from the Youth Risk Behavioral Surveillance System (YRBSS)
that measures high school and middle school students’ smokeless tobacco and alcohol use. Specifically, the
aims of the proposed supplement are: to quantify the amount and characterize the themes and sources of ATST
posts on social media (i.e., Twitter and Instagram) (Aim 1); to assess the impact of potential exposure to ATST
social media content on youth smokeless and alcohol product use and initiation (Aim 2). While the parent project
aims to explore differences in smokeless tobacco marketing and use across regions and populations and
investigates the moderating impact of such underlying factors as tobacco control policies, we have not had the
resources and expertise to study the potential impact of alcohol-related promotion of smokeless tobacco on
tobacco initiation and consumption. By conducting linked analyses of ATST social media content and YRBSS
data, this project will provide highly policy-relevant scientific evidence about the influences of alcohol-related
marketing environment on tobacco and alcohol use and initiation among youth in the U.S.
Publications
None. See parent grant details.