The Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC) has once again raised the alarm about how the tobacco industry is using influencers to reach young people and thus attract new consumers for its products. After reviewing the contents of 450 profiles of Spanish influencers from the world of lifestyle, gamers and television celebrities, the AECC ensures that a quarter of them have published content related to tobacco in the last six years and the volume of publications has given upward, especially after the pandemic. If before 2020 there were 8% of publications that showed tobacco, in 2022 it was 45%.
“This means having an impact on more than 182 million followers, of which 28% are between 18 and 24 years old, which means that more than 51 million young people are exposed to tobacco through influencers”, as explained Jorge López, digital manager of Lasker, the consultancy that has carried out the analysis of Spanish Influencers and the impact of digital smoke on young people for the AECC.
And he underlines that gamers are the ones that have the most impact among their followers when they generate digital smoke, that is, content that increases the chances of young people becoming tobacco users. And the influence is very great because among the people who have had this exposure to digital smoke there are more than twice as many smokers (53%) than among those who have not had it, according to the report of the Spanish Association against Cancer.
By platform, Lasker’s analysis shows that 57% of digital smoke is found on YouTube, followed by Instagram (25%) and TikTok (18%). And if the contents are analyzed, 46% correspond to vaping, another 46% are cigarettes and the remaining 8% refer to cigars, pipes, hookahs, etc. “There is evidence of a clear strategy on the part of the industry to access young people, since tobacco brands appear in a third of the contents analyzed,” López details.
The data confirm the impact that social networks have in disseminating tobacco consumption among young people and coincide with the results of the study by the AECC Observatory Influence of video on demand platforms and social media on exposure to tobacco and new forms of smoking that this entity presented last April and, according to which, nine out of ten young people between the ages of 16 and 21 are regularly exposed to “digital smoke”, to messages that generate desirability and normalize the consumption of new products of the tobacco, such as vaporizers.
And that contributes not only to 40% using them, but also to improving the image they have of tobacco. Among the 1,730 adolescents surveyed at that time by the AECC, one in four believed that the harmful effects of tobacco are exaggerated, 44% that it makes them interesting, 45% that it helps them in complicated situations and 36% that it makes it easier. make friends or flirt
In addition, six out of ten thought that vaping and e-cigarettes are in fashion because they are done by actors, streamers and influencers, 53% thought it was better to vape because it does not leave bad odors, 51% because they believed that it is easier to quit and 37.6% because it is a way of sharing experiences with friends.
Faced with this reality, the AECC has started a campaign that, with the hastag
“Despite the fact that the industry disguises them with bright colors and friendly flavors, the consequences for the health of vapers are as negative as they are a risk factor for the development of cancer,” Karen Ramírez, head of the study, pointed out when presenting the study. prevention of the Spanish Association against Cancer. And she recalled that tobacco is related to 16 types of cancer, “being responsible for 84% of cases of laryngeal cancer or 82% of lung cancer.”
Hence, the AECC has demanded from all political parties specific laws and regulations that allow protecting minors from the advertising, promotion and sale of tobacco in all its variants because its objective is to achieve the first tobacco-free generation in Spain in 2030 and in Europe in 2040.
