title: Portrayal of electronic cigarettes on YouTube.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  As the most popular video sharing website in the world, YouTube has the potential to reach and influence a huge audience. This study aims to gain a systematic understanding of what e-cigarette messages people are being exposed to on YouTube by assessing the quantity, portrayal and reach of e-cigarette videos.
  
  
  METHODS
  Researchers identified the top 20 search results on YouTube by relevance and view count for the following search terms: "electronic cigarettes", "e-cigarettes", "ecigarettes", "ecigs", "smoking electronic cigarettes", "smoking e-cigarettes", "smoking ecigarettes", "smoking ecigs". A sample of 196 unique videos was coded for overall portrayal and genre. Main topics covered in e-cigarette videos were recorded and video statistics and viewer demographic information were documented.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among the 196 unique videos, 94% (n = 185) were "pro" to e-cigarettes and 4% (n = 8) were neutral, while there were only 2% (n = 3) that were "anti" to e-cigarettes. The top 3 most prevalent genres of videos were advertisement, user sharing and product review. 84.3% of "pro" videos contained Web links for e-cigarette purchase. 71.4% of "pro" videos claimed that e-cigarettes were healthier than conventional cigarettes. Audience was primarily from the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada and "pro" e-cigarette videos were watched more frequently and rated much more favorably than "anti" ones.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The vast majority of information on YouTube about e-cigarettes promoted their use and depicted the use of e-cigarettes as socially acceptable. It is critical to develop appropriate health campaigns to inform e-cigarette consumers of potential harms associated with e-cigarette use.
authors.forename: Chuan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: Xiaolong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, The State Key Laboratory of Management and Control for Complex Systems, Beijing, China. zeng@email.arizona.edu.
authors.forename: Daniel Dajun
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Leischow
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002170:Canada; D066300:Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D012929:Psychological Distance; D012907:Smoking; D062789:Tobacco Products; D006113:United Kingdom; D014481:United States