VapingNCT07694739
E-cigarette Social Media Marketing and Its Perceptions by Youth
A study testing Exposure to Influencer Age and Context Variations in E-Cigarette Marketing in people with Vaping, run by University of Southern California at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
The proposed study will conduct two randomized between-subject experiments among 6,000 adolescents (per each experiment) recruited nationwide to test the effects of audio-visual features of e-cigarette influencer marketing on perceptions of influencer credibility, e-cigarette harm perceptions, appeal, and… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 14 to 17 years
- Conditions the study is for
- Vaping
- What is being tested?
- Exposure to Influencer Age and Context Variations in E-Cigarette Marketing
- Could I receive a placebo?
- Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
- How many people
- 6,000 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 1 Jan 2027to 30 Dec 2030
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
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,
Who cannot join
- Not meeting the following criteria:
- 14-17 years of age,
- English fluency,
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
United States1 site
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California, 90032
Jennifer Unger, PhD, 3233330580, unger@usc.edu
About this study
Official title: Evolution of Influencer-driven E-cigarette Marketing on Social Media and Its Effect on E-cigarette Perceptions and Use Patterns Among Adolescents
The proposed study will conduct two randomized between-subject experiments among 6,000 adolescents (per each experiment) recruited nationwide to test the effects of audio-visual features of e-cigarette influencer marketing on perceptions of influencer credibility, e-cigarette harm perceptions, appeal, and susceptibility to e-cigarette use. This protocol represent the first experiment.
Read the detailed description
We will estimate the effects of visual features often used in e-cigarette influencer marketing on social media on perceptions of influencer credibility, harm perceptions, appeal and susceptibility to e-cigarette use among adolescents. We will assess interaction of the perceived age of influencers (young-looking vs older-looking) with the following features of influencer marketing, using two survey-based experiments: Experiment 1 will assess the effects of theme or social context appeal, i.e., use of generally positively perceived lifestyle contexts (e.g., healthy lifestyle, entertainment) alongside e-cigarette marketing.
- Conditions
- Vaping
- Being tested
- Exposure to Influencer Age and Context Variations 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.
Exposure to Influencer Age and Context Variations in E-Cigarette MarketingOther
Exposure to promotional e-cigarette videos where influencers' age appearance (manipulated via an AI-based age filter) and the situational context alongside e-cigarette promotion (manipulated by background settings) are systematically varied. The videos will be embedded within an online survey platform, immediately preceding the outcome assessment.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Experimental: Videos featuring young influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside fitness | Experimental | Not described Receives: Other: Exposure to Influencer Age and Context Variations in E-Cigarette Marketing |
| Experimental: Videos featuring young influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside entertainment | Experimental | Not described Receives: Other: Exposure to Influencer Age and Context Variations in E-Cigarette Marketing |
| Experimental: Videos featuring young influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside fashion | Experimental | Not described Receives: Other: Exposure to Influencer Age and Context Variations in E-Cigarette Marketing |
| Experimental: Videos featuring young influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside avatar | Experimental | Not described Receives: Other: Exposure to Influencer Age and Context Variations in E-Cigarette Marketing |
| Experimental: Videos featuring older influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside fitness | Experimental | Not described Receives: Other: Exposure to Influencer Age and Context Variations in E-Cigarette Marketing |
| Experimental: Videos featuring older influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside fashion | Experimental | Not described Receives: Other: Exposure to Influencer Age and Context Variations in E-Cigarette Marketing |
| Experimental: Videos featuring older influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside avatar | Experimental | Not described Receives: Other: Exposure to Influencer Age and Context Variations in E-Cigarette Marketing |
| Experimental: Videos featuring young influencers promoting e-cigarettes alone | Experimental | Not described Receives: Other: Exposure to Influencer Age and Context Variations in E-Cigarette Marketing |
| Experimental: Videos featuring older influencers promoting e-cigarettes alone | Active comparator | Not described Receives: Other: Exposure to Influencer Age and Context Variations in E-Cigarette Marketing |
| Experimental: Videos featuring two neutral profiles of older influencers | Placebo comparator | Not described Receives: Other: Exposure to Influencer Age and Context Variations in E-Cigarette Marketing |
| Experimental: Videos featuring two neutral profiles of younger influencers | Placebo comparator | Not described Receives: Other: Exposure to Influencer Age and Context Variations in E-Cigarette Marketing |
| Experimental: Videos featuring older influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside entertainment | Experimental | Not described Receives: Other: Exposure to Influencer Age and Context Variations 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 10 times immediately after each of the 10 videos during the 15-minute-long survey-based experiment
Perceived appeal of e-cigarettes
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 10 times immediately after each of the 10 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 10 times immediately after each of the 10 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 10 times immediately after each of the 10 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 posted10 Jul 2026
- Study start1 Jan 2027 (estimated)
- Primary completion30 Dec 2028 (estimated)
- Study completion30 Dec 2030 (estimated)
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.
- More trials run by University of Southern CaliforniaThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- 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
- We will conduct a randomized online between-subject experiment to assess how influencer characteristics and e-cigarette post features affect perceived influencer credibility, harm perceptions, product appeal, and susceptibility to e-cigarette use. 6,000 participants will be randomized to one of 12 conditions in a 2 × 6 design varying influencer age appearance, younger- versus older-looking, and e-cigarette post context, including e-cigarette-only control and e-cigarette content paired with lifestyle contexts such as fitness, entertainment, fashion, avatars, or no added context.
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 6,000 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of Southern California
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- 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
- NCT07694739
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 1R01CA300653-01A1
- Status last verified
- Jul 2026
- First submitted
- 3 Jul 2026
- Last updated
- 20 Jul 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 manuscripts related to this study are accepted for publication
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 20 Jul 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Evolution of Influencer-driven E-cigarette Marketing on Social Media and Its Effect on E-cigarette Perceptions and Use Patterns Among Adolescents
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07694739
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 1R01CA300653-01A1
- Conditions
- Vaping
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Not yet recruiting
- Enrolment
- 6,000 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- University of Southern CaliforniaUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- Study start
- 1 Jan 2027 (estimated)
- Primary completion
- 30 Dec 2028 (estimated)
- Study completion
- 30 Dec 2030 (estimated)
- First posted
- 10 Jul 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.
The proposed study will conduct two randomized between-subject experiments among 6,000 adolescents (per each experiment) recruited nationwide to test the effects of audio-visual features of e-cigarette influencer marketing on perceptions of influencer credibility, e-cigarette harm perceptions, appeal, and susceptibility to e-cigarette use. This protocol represent the first experiment.
Detailed description
We will estimate the effects of visual features often used in e-cigarette influencer marketing on social media on perceptions of influencer credibility, harm perceptions, appeal and susceptibility to e-cigarette use among adolescents. We will assess interaction of the perceived age of influencers (young-looking vs older-looking) with the following features of influencer marketing, using two survey-based experiments: Experiment 1 will assess the effects of theme or social context appeal, i.e., use of generally positively perceived lifestyle contexts (e.g., healthy lifestyle, entertainment) alongside e-cigarette marketing.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Factorial
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 12
- Model description
- We will conduct a randomized online between-subject experiment to assess how influencer characteristics and e-cigarette post features affect perceived influencer credibility, harm perceptions, product appeal, and susceptibility to e-cigarette use. 6,000 participants will be randomized to one of 12 conditions in a 2 × 6 design varying influencer age appearance, younger- versus older-looking, and e-cigarette post context, including e-cigarette-only control and e-cigarette content paired with lifestyle contexts such as fitness, entertainment, fashion, avatars, or no added context.
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Experimental: Videos featuring young influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside fitness | Experimental | Other: Exposure to Influencer Age and Context Variations in E-Cigarette Marketing |
| Experimental: Videos featuring young influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside entertainment | Experimental | Other: Exposure to Influencer Age and Context Variations in E-Cigarette Marketing |
| Experimental: Videos featuring young influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside fashion | Experimental | Other: Exposure to Influencer Age and Context Variations in E-Cigarette Marketing |
| Experimental: Videos featuring young influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside avatar | Experimental | Other: Exposure to Influencer Age and Context Variations in E-Cigarette Marketing |
| Experimental: Videos featuring older influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside fitness | Experimental | Other: Exposure to Influencer Age and Context Variations in E-Cigarette Marketing |
| Experimental: Videos featuring older influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside fashion | Experimental | Other: Exposure to Influencer Age and Context Variations in E-Cigarette Marketing |
| Experimental: Videos featuring older influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside avatar | Experimental | Other: Exposure to Influencer Age and Context Variations in E-Cigarette Marketing |
| Experimental: Videos featuring young influencers promoting e-cigarettes alone | Experimental | Other: Exposure to Influencer Age and Context Variations in E-Cigarette Marketing |
| Experimental: Videos featuring older influencers promoting e-cigarettes alone | Active comparator | Other: Exposure to Influencer Age and Context Variations in E-Cigarette Marketing |
| Experimental: Videos featuring two neutral profiles of older influencers | Placebo comparator | Other: Exposure to Influencer Age and Context Variations in E-Cigarette Marketing |
| Experimental: Videos featuring two neutral profiles of younger influencers | Placebo comparator | Other: Exposure to Influencer Age and Context Variations in E-Cigarette Marketing |
| Experimental: Videos featuring older influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside entertainment | Experimental | Other: Exposure to Influencer Age and Context Variations in E-Cigarette Marketing |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 14 to 17 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Child
Key inclusion criteria (2 listed)
- 14-17 years of age,
- English fluency,
Key exclusion criteria (3 listed)
- 14-17 years of age,
- English fluency,
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Exposure to Influencer Age and Context Variations in E-Cigarette MarketingExposure to promotional e-cigarette videos where influencers' age appearance (manipulated via an AI-based age filter) and the situational context alongside e-cigarette promotion (manipulated by background settings) are systematically varied. The videos will be embedded within an online survey platform, immediately preceding the outcome assessment. | Other | Experimental: Videos featuring older influencers promoting e-cigarettes alone, Experimental: Videos featuring older influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside avatar, Experimental: Videos featuring older influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside entertainment, Experimental: Videos featuring older influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside fashion, Experimental: Videos featuring older influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside fitness, Experimental: Videos featuring two neutral profiles of older influencers, Experimental: Videos featuring two neutral profiles of younger influencers, Experimental: Videos featuring young influencers promoting e-cigarettes alone, Experimental: Videos featuring young influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside avatar, Experimental: Videos featuring young influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside entertainment, Experimental: Videos featuring young influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside fashion, Experimental: Videos featuring young influencers promoting e-cigarettes alongside fitness |
Primary outcome
Harm Perceptions of e-cigarettes
Time frame: Assessed 10 times immediately after each of the 10 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 10 times immediately after each of the 10 videos during the 15-minute-long survey-based experiment
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 10 times immediately after each of the 10 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 10 times immediately after each of the 10 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
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 20 Jul 2026.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No. survey is anonymous. Data will be publicly available on GitHub repository if manuscripts related to this study are 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.
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 Exposure to Influencer Age and Context Variations 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 2 inclusion and 3 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: opening soon, as of the sponsor's last update on 20 Jul 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. Some participants in this study may receive a placebo. 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?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
Contact Jennifer B Unger, PI, PhD ((323) 442-7200, unger@usc.edu), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Harm Perceptions of e-cigarettes (time frame: Assessed 10 times immediately after each of the 10 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 20 Jul 2026; AzTrials last refreshed its copy on 6 Nov 2026.