VapingNCT07420842
Influencer Marketing and Adolescent E-cigarette Use
A study testing Youth Perceptions of Influencer Age and Fitness Contexts in E-Cigarette Marketing in people with Vaping, run by University of Southern California at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
Adolescents (N = 700) participated in the online survey-based randomized experiment focused on understanding youth perceptions of e-cigarette influencer marketing on social media. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 14 to 17 years
- Conditions the study is for
- Vaping
- What is being tested?
- Youth Perceptions of Influencer Age and Fitness Contexts in E-Cigarette Marketing
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 700 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 16 Jul 2025to 1 Aug 2025
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 14 to 17 years
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Child
Who may be able to join
- 14-17 years of age,
- English fluency,
- Current California resident.
Who cannot join
- Not meeting the following criteria:
- 14-17 years of age,
- English fluency,
- Current California resident.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
United States1 site
Qualtrics, survey was administered online
Seattle, Washington, 98101
About this study
Official title: The Effect of Social Media Influencer Marketing on E-cigarette Perceptions and Use by Adolescents.
Adolescents (N = 700) participated in the online survey-based randomized experiment focused on understanding youth perceptions of e-cigarette influencer marketing on social media. Specifically, the study assessed how age appearance of social media influencers, fitness-related contextual framing of e-cigarette content, and perceived influencer credibility jointly shape adolescent harm perceptions, appeal, and susceptibility to e-cigarette use. Participants were randomly shown 6 videos, featuring younger- or older-looking influencers promoting e-cigarettes in the following experimental conditions: 1) younger-looking influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside fitness-oriented activities (condition 1); 2) older-looking influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside fitness-oriented activities (condition 2); 3) younger-looking influencers promoting e-cigarettes without any fitness-oriented content; and 4) older-looking influencers promoting e-cigarettes without any fitness-oriented content (control). After watching each video, participants rated perceptions of influencer credibility (i.e., honesty, trustworthiness, knowledge) on the scale of 0 (e.g., dishonest) to 100 (honest). Among all participants, harm perceptions and appeal of e-cigarettes was also assessed. Susceptibility to use e-cigarettes was assessed among never users of e-cigarettes.
Read the detailed description
Adolescents (14-17 years of age) living in California were recruited by Qualtrics marketing research panel to participate in a survey on tobacco-related attitudes and behaviors. Qualtrics, a research panel agency, has been used in prior research to survey adolescents about their tobacco-related attitudes and behaviors. Participants were provided with a survey URL link. After completing informed consent, participants completed the survey online. The study was approved by the University of Southern California Institutional Review Board (UP-CG-24-00013). Respondents were randomly assigned to watch six 10-second long Instagram and/or TikTok videos in four experimental conditions: 1) younger-looking influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside fitness-oriented activities (condition 1); 2) older-looking influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside fitness-oriented activities (condition 2); 3) younger-looking influencers promoting e-cigarettes without any fitness-oriented content; and 4) older-looking influencers promoting e-cigarettes without any fitness-oriented content (control).
- Conditions
- Vaping
- Being tested
- Youth Perceptions of Influencer Age and Fitness Contexts in E-Cigarette Marketing
- Medical subject headings
- Vaping
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Youth Perceptions of Influencer Age and Fitness Contexts in E-Cigarette MarketingOther
Participants watched online survey-imbedded promotional videos featuring influencers. Influencer age appearance was manipulated using AI-based age filter.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Videos featuring young influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside fitness-related activities | Experimental | a 10 second video clip Receives: Other: Youth Perceptions of Influencer Age and Fitness Contexts in E-Cigarette Marketing |
| Videos featuring older influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside fitness-related activities | Experimental | a 10 second video clip Receives: Other: Youth Perceptions of Influencer Age and Fitness Contexts in E-Cigarette Marketing |
| Videos featuring young influencers promoting e-cigarettes without fitness-related activities | Experimental | a 10 second video clip Receives: Other: Youth Perceptions of Influencer Age and Fitness Contexts in E-Cigarette Marketing |
| Videos featuring older influencers promoting e-cigarettes without fitness-related activities | Active comparator | a 10 second video clip Receives: Other: Youth Perceptions of Influencer Age and Fitness Contexts in E-Cigarette Marketing |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Harm Perceptions of e-cigarettes
Responses to one question adapted from PATH, "Based on the videos you just watched, do you think using e-cigarettes for vaping nicotine is harmful to your health?" The outcome was assessed on the 5-point ordinal scale with the following response choices: Not at all harmful, slightly harmful, somewhat harmful, very harmful, extremely harmful.
Measured: assessed six times immediately after each of the six videos during the 15-minute-long survey-based experiment
Perceived appeal of e-cigarettes
Description: Responses to the following questions: using e-cigarette is: not cool/cool, unattractive/attractive were assessed on the 7-point semantic differential scale with the word pairs anchored at each end. The scale was adapted from prior research. The items were combined (by summing all the non-missing values of the items) into one variable (α=0.94).
Measured: Assessed six times immediately after each of the six videos during the 15-minute-long survey-based experiment
Susceptibility to e-cigarette use
Susceptibility to e-cigarette use was measured (among never-users of e-cigarettes), using the validated three-item scale (indicating peer influence, intention, and curiosity about e-cigarette use) adapted from PATH, and combined into one variable (α=0.93). Consistent with prior research, the measure was dichotomized with responses "definitely not" to all items being coded as "not susceptible" and responses "probably not," "probably yes", or "definitely yes" being coded as "susceptible."
Measured: Assessed six times immediately after each of the six videos during the 15-minute-long survey-based experiment
Perceived influencer credibility
Perceived influencer credibility (i.e., honesty, trustworthiness, knowledge) were assessed using a 0 (e.g., dishonest) -100 (e.g., honest) scale that has been validated in prior research.
Measured: Assessed six times immediately after each of the six videos during the 15-minute-long survey-based experiment
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted19 Feb 2026
- Study start16 Jul 2025
- Primary completion1 Aug 2025
- Study completion1 Aug 2025
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for VapingStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Factorial
- Model description
- Videos featuring young- or older-looking influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside fitness-related activities or without such activities
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 700 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of Southern California
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Tobacco Related Disease Research Program
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Jennifer Unger, University of Southern California
- Investigators
- Jennifer B Unger, PhD, Principal investigator, University of Southern California
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07420842
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- UP-CG-24-00013
- Status last verified
- Feb 2026
- First submitted
- 1 Feb 2026
- Last updated
- 19 Feb 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No: survey is anonymous. Data will be publicly available on GitHub repository if a manuscript related to this study is accepted for publication
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 19 Feb 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- The Effect of Social Media Influencer Marketing on E-cigarette Perceptions and Use by Adolescents.
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07420842
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- UP-CG-24-00013
- Conditions
- Vaping
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 700 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- University of Southern CaliforniaUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Tobacco Related Disease Research Program
- Study start
- 16 Jul 2025 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 1 Aug 2025 (actual)
- Study completion
- 1 Aug 2025 (actual)
- First posted
- 19 Feb 2026 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
Adolescents (N = 700) participated in the online survey-based randomized experiment focused on understanding youth perceptions of e-cigarette influencer marketing on social media. Specifically, the study assessed how age appearance of social media influencers, fitness-related contextual framing of e-cigarette content, and perceived influencer credibility jointly shape adolescent harm perceptions, appeal, and susceptibility to e-cigarette use. Participants were randomly shown 6 videos, featuring younger- or older-looking influencers promoting e-cigarettes in the following experimental conditions: 1) younger-looking influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside fitness-oriented activities (condition 1); 2) older-looking influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside fitness-oriented activities (condition 2); 3) younger-looking influencers promoting e-cigarettes without any fitness-oriented content; and 4) older-looking influencers promoting e-cigarettes without any fitness-oriented content (control). After watching each video, participants rated perceptions of influencer credibility (i.e., honesty, trustworthiness, knowledge) on the scale of 0 (e.g., dishonest) to 100 (honest). Among all participants, harm perceptions and appeal of e-cigarettes was also assessed. Susceptibility to use e-cigarettes was assessed among never users of e-cigarettes.
Detailed description
Adolescents (14-17 years of age) living in California were recruited by Qualtrics marketing research panel to participate in a survey on tobacco-related attitudes and behaviors. Qualtrics, a research panel agency, has been used in prior research to survey adolescents about their tobacco-related attitudes and behaviors. Participants were provided with a survey URL link. After completing informed consent, participants completed the survey online. The study was approved by the University of Southern California Institutional Review Board (UP-CG-24-00013). Respondents were randomly assigned to watch six 10-second long Instagram and/or TikTok videos in four experimental conditions: 1) younger-looking influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside fitness-oriented activities (condition 1); 2) older-looking influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside fitness-oriented activities (condition 2); 3) younger-looking influencers promoting e-cigarettes without any fitness-oriented content; and 4) older-looking influencers promoting e-cigarettes without any fitness-oriented content (control).
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Factorial
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 4
- Model description
- Videos featuring young- or older-looking influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside fitness-related activities or without such activities
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Videos featuring young influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside fitness-related activities | Experimental | Other: Youth Perceptions of Influencer Age and Fitness Contexts in E-Cigarette Marketinga 10 second video clip |
| Videos featuring older influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside fitness-related activities | Experimental | Other: Youth Perceptions of Influencer Age and Fitness Contexts in E-Cigarette Marketinga 10 second video clip |
| Videos featuring young influencers promoting e-cigarettes without fitness-related activities | Experimental | Other: Youth Perceptions of Influencer Age and Fitness Contexts in E-Cigarette Marketinga 10 second video clip |
| Videos featuring older influencers promoting e-cigarettes without fitness-related activities | Active comparator | Other: Youth Perceptions of Influencer Age and Fitness Contexts in E-Cigarette Marketinga 10 second video clip |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 14 to 17 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Child
Key inclusion criteria (3 listed)
- 14-17 years of age,
- English fluency,
- Current California resident.
Key exclusion criteria (4 listed)
- 14-17 years of age,
- English fluency,
- Current California resident.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Youth Perceptions of Influencer Age and Fitness Contexts in E-Cigarette MarketingParticipants watched online survey-imbedded promotional videos featuring influencers. Influencer age appearance was manipulated using AI-based age filter. | Other | Videos featuring older influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside fitness-related activities, Videos featuring older influencers promoting e-cigarettes without fitness-related activities, Videos featuring young influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside fitness-related activities, Videos featuring young influencers promoting e-cigarettes without fitness-related activities |
Primary outcome
Harm Perceptions of e-cigarettes
Time frame: assessed six times immediately after each of the six videos during the 15-minute-long survey-based experiment
Responses to one question adapted from PATH, "Based on the videos you just watched, do you think using e-cigarettes for vaping nicotine is harmful to your health?" The outcome was assessed on the 5-point ordinal scale with the following response choices: Not at all harmful, slightly harmful, somewhat harmful, very harmful, extremely harmful.
Perceived appeal of e-cigarettes
Time frame: Assessed six times immediately after each of the six videos during the 15-minute-long survey-based experiment
Description: Responses to the following questions: using e-cigarette is: not cool/cool, unattractive/attractive were assessed on the 7-point semantic differential scale with the word pairs anchored at each end. The scale was adapted from prior research. The items were combined (by summing all the non-missing values of the items) into one variable (α=0.94).
Susceptibility to e-cigarette use
Time frame: Assessed six times immediately after each of the six videos during the 15-minute-long survey-based experiment
Susceptibility to e-cigarette use was measured (among never-users of e-cigarettes), using the validated three-item scale (indicating peer influence, intention, and curiosity about e-cigarette use) adapted from PATH, and combined into one variable (α=0.93). Consistent with prior research, the measure was dichotomized with responses "definitely not" to all items being coded as "not susceptible" and responses "probably not," "probably yes", or "definitely yes" being coded as "susceptible."
Perceived influencer credibility
Time frame: Assessed six times immediately after each of the six videos during the 15-minute-long survey-based experiment
Perceived influencer credibility (i.e., honesty, trustworthiness, knowledge) were assessed using a 0 (e.g., dishonest) -100 (e.g., honest) scale that has been validated in prior research.
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 19 Feb 2026.
- Related InfoLink provided by the sponsor.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No. survey is anonymous. Data will be publicly available on GitHub repository if a manuscript related to this study is accepted for publication
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Jennifer B Unger, PhD principal investigator
University of Southern California
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Youth Perceptions of Influencer Age and Fitness Contexts in E-Cigarette Marketing in people with Vaping, run by University of Southern California at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 3 inclusion and 4 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 19 Feb 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Harm Perceptions of e-cigarettes (time frame: assessed six times immediately after each of the six videos during the 15-minute-long survey-based experiment). The study lists 4 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 19 Feb 2026.