New Zealand: funding for study on tobacco and alcohol marketing on social networks

New funding announced on 14 May 2020 by the Health Research Council of New Zealand will enable Massey University to conduct a two-year investigation into the extent and practices of the use of social media influencers to promote products, which are particularly harmful to the health of young people. Dr Ian Goodwin, a Senior Lecturer in the School of English and Media Studies, will lead the study into the use of influencers and other famous or well-known social media figures to promote products such as cigarettes, e-cigarettes and alcohol. Most countries have regulations that restrict or strictly ban advertising for products with known adverse health effects, such as tobacco. Traditional advertising channels such as print, television, outdoor advertising, point-of-sale promotions etc. are covered by these regulations. However, the use of social media influencers is much less regulated and audiences are often less able to discern what is advertising from genuine product endorsements. In 2018, a two-year study[1] Yet across 40 countries, revealed that over 100 campaigns had been developed by tobacco multinationals on social media and that they had secretly associated social media influencers to publish images of their tobacco and vaping products.[2]. Social media has radically changed the way companies market dangerous products to young people. Influencers embody these changes and new trends. Yet we know little about the nature or extent of their practices. Influencers are an integral part of the secretive strategies of so-called “under the radar” marketing that characterize social media. These blurred lines between user-generated and commercial content make public health marketing regulations difficult and therefore preventative action less effective. Focusing on alcohol, tobacco and vaping, the new research intends to use innovative methodologies and cutting-edge software to explore and analyze influencer marketing on social platforms such as Instagram. This exploratory research hopes to inform ongoing national and global debates about the regulation of digital marketing and subsequent policy decisions to protect public health. Dr Goodwin’s study is one of 17 Explorer projects funded by the Health Research Council. It has a total value of $2.55 million. ©Tobacco Free Generation

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[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/24/health/tobacco-social-media-smoking.html [2] https://cnct.fr/actualites/influenceurs-marketing-dissimule-tabac/ ©National Committee Against Smoking |