YouTube Video Content Surveillance Reveals Unorthodox Electronic Cigarette Use

Every manufacturer of a product has specific ways through which they expect their products to be used. However, the buyers of those products often come up with novel ways to use their purchases. These unorthodox uses have also been observed among e-cig buyers. Scientists sought to establish how prevalent such unorthodox e-cig use was on popular social media, particularly the videos uploaded to YouTube. The researchers found that unorthodox e-cig use was thrice more prevalent in the 150 videos discovered using general e-cig search terms. For example, the modification of open system e-cigarettes and the use of the devices to vape other substances (marijuana, for example) were observed. These findings raise important issues that regulators need to pay attention to. For instance, how can the regulations controlling product design be formulated in order to reduce the likelihood that users will put their safety at risk by changing the structure of their devices? Secondly, what measures can be taken to prevent the youth from accessing adverts showing unorthodox (and implicitly “cool”) ways to use electronic cigarettes? Parents also need to take a keen interest in these findings since vital information can be got to inform their discussions with their kids about these devices. Read the summary of the research and see what conclusions and implications you derive from that data.