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© 2022. This work is licensed under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Background: Oral nicotine pouches are a new form of tobacco-free nicotine products launched in recent years with a variety of flavors.

Objective: This study aims to examine the public perceptions and discussions of oral nicotine pouches on Reddit, a popular social media platform for sharing user experiences.

Methods: Between February 15, 2019, and February 12, 2021, a total of 2410 Reddit posts related to oral nicotine pouches were obtained over a 2-year period. After the removal of unrelated or commercial posts, 653 Reddit posts related to oral nicotine pouches remained. Topics and sentiments related to oral nicotine pouches on Reddit were hand coded.

Results: The number of Reddit posts related to oral nicotine pouches increased during the study period. Content analysis showed that the most popular topic was “sharing product information and user experience” (366/653, 56%), in which sharing oral nicotine pouch products and user experiences were dominant. The next popular topic was “asking product-related questions” (product properties and product recommendations; 115/653, 17.6%), followed by “quitting nicotine products” such as vaping or smoking through use of oral nicotine pouches or quitting the oral nicotine pouches themselves (83/653, 12.7%) and “discussing oral nicotine pouch–related health” symptoms or concerns related to oral nicotine pouches (74/653, 11.3%). The least popular topic was “legality and permissions” related to oral nicotine pouches (15/653, 2.3%). In addition, a greater number of Reddit posts described positive attitudes compared to negative attitudes toward oral nicotine pouches (354/653, 54.2% vs 101/653, 15.5%; P<.001).

Conclusions: Reddit posts overall had a positive attitude toward oral nicotine pouches and users were actively sharing product and user experiences. Our study provides the first insight on up-to-date oral nicotine pouch discussions on social media.

Details

Title
Perceptions of Oral Nicotine Pouches on Reddit: Observational Study
Author
Shao, Yihan  VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Zou, Jonathan  VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Xie, Zidian  VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Rachel Grana Mayne  VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Ossip, Deborah J  VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Rahman, Irfan  VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; McIntosh, Scott  VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Li, Dongmei  VIAFID ORCID Logo 
First page
e37071
Section
Infodemiology and Infoveillance
Publication year
2022
Publication date
Jul 2022
Publisher
Gunther Eysenbach MD MPH, Associate Professor
e-ISSN
1438-8871
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2696751425
Copyright
© 2022. This work is licensed under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.