Ads promoting cigarette smoking have been banned for decades.
But a new study suggests advertisements for electronic cigarettes still make people want to smoke.
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania studied more than 800 daily, intermittent and former smokers.
The participants watched e-cigarette advertising and were then asked questions about their smoking urges and behaviors.
The results indicate that images of people smoking e-cigs – also called “vaping” — can create cravings for a real cigarette.
Researchers also found that former smokers who watched e-cigarette ads had less confidence that they could permanently overcome their tobacco habit.
A study from 2014, that was published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine revealed that e-cigarette advertising expenditure in the US almost tripled between 2011 and 2012, from $6.4 million to $18.3 million (across all platforsm). That spending is only expected to grow in the future.
