Systematic content analysis of online information on herbal smoking products.
Herbal bidi
Herbal hookah
Nicotine-free
Smoking
Tobacco-free
Journal
The Indian journal of tuberculosis
ISSN: 0019-5707
Titre abrégé: Indian J Tuberc
Pays: India
ID NLM: 0373027
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
2021
2021
Historique:
received:
02
07
2021
revised:
03
08
2021
accepted:
11
08
2021
entrez:
20
9
2021
pubmed:
21
9
2021
medline:
15
12
2021
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
Herbal smoking products (HSPs) are marketed as a safer alternative to tobacco. These are easily available at affordable prices in the online retail websites. This study aimed to analyze the HSP-related informational content available in the most popular online platforms. Google, Yahoo, Bing and YouTube online platforms were searched for HSP related content using appropriate keywords. First 50 search results were retrieved and screened for potential eligibility. The included web-pages were categorized as video and still records. From each included record, information regarding source, primary theme, health benefits/hazards and tone was abstracted. Additionally, video production quality, like ratio and video power index was also computed for each video record. All included records were subjected to descriptive statistics and Chi-square test, as appropriate. Level of significance was set at <0.05. 174 still and 94 video records were included. 35.6% of the included still records were sourced by manufacturers/suppliers while that of scientific origin was 12.1%. 83% of the video-records were posted by general public. About 90% of the included records had not mentioned anything regarding age restrictions. 67.8% of the still records and 87.2% of the video records promoted the use of HSPs. The informational content presented online is huge, mostly posted by the general public without any scientific rationale and exclusively favors the use of HSPs. There is no age restriction as to who can access the information, making this content easily accessible to people of all ages. Such spread of information may mislead the public in adopting the smoking of these herbal products. Since HSPs may act as a potential gateway to tobacco smoking, there is an urgent need to regulate the content available online.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
Herbal smoking products (HSPs) are marketed as a safer alternative to tobacco. These are easily available at affordable prices in the online retail websites. This study aimed to analyze the HSP-related informational content available in the most popular online platforms.
METHODS
METHODS
Google, Yahoo, Bing and YouTube online platforms were searched for HSP related content using appropriate keywords. First 50 search results were retrieved and screened for potential eligibility. The included web-pages were categorized as video and still records. From each included record, information regarding source, primary theme, health benefits/hazards and tone was abstracted. Additionally, video production quality, like ratio and video power index was also computed for each video record. All included records were subjected to descriptive statistics and Chi-square test, as appropriate. Level of significance was set at <0.05.
RESULTS
RESULTS
174 still and 94 video records were included. 35.6% of the included still records were sourced by manufacturers/suppliers while that of scientific origin was 12.1%. 83% of the video-records were posted by general public. About 90% of the included records had not mentioned anything regarding age restrictions. 67.8% of the still records and 87.2% of the video records promoted the use of HSPs.
CONCLUSIONS
CONCLUSIONS
The informational content presented online is huge, mostly posted by the general public without any scientific rationale and exclusively favors the use of HSPs. There is no age restriction as to who can access the information, making this content easily accessible to people of all ages. Such spread of information may mislead the public in adopting the smoking of these herbal products. Since HSPs may act as a potential gateway to tobacco smoking, there is an urgent need to regulate the content available online.
Identifiants
pubmed: 34538396
pii: S0019-5707(21)00163-3
doi: 10.1016/j.ijtb.2021.08.021
pii:
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
S71-S79Informations de copyright
Copyright © 2021 Tuberculosis Association of India. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts
Conflicts of interest The authors have none to declare.