Presence of Nicotine Warning Statement on US Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) Advertisements 6 Months Before and After the August 10, 2018 Effective Date

Abstract

Introduction: Effective in August 10, 2018, FDA requires advertisements for electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) that meet the definition of a "covered tobacco product"to feature a standard nicotine warning statement. To date, limited data exist on the presence of warning statements in ENDS advertising. Methods: We acquired ENDS ads (n = 459) that first ran six months before (February 10, 2018-August 9, 2018) and after (August 10, 2018-February 9, 2019) the effective date. The sample included online, print, and outdoor static ads (ie, without video or animated graphics) (n = 166 before, n = 198 after), online and television video ads (n = 16 before, n = 49 after), and radio ads (n = 9 before, n = 21 after). We coded ads for the presence of the verbatim FDA warning. Ads with verbatim warnings were coded for required formatting and additional features. Results: Overall, 28% of static (n = 46/166), 62% of video (n = 10/16), and 67% of radio (n = 6/9) ads that ran before the effective date contained the verbatim warning versus 84% (n = 167/198, p