E-Cigarette Brands Are Skirting the Rules about Health Warning Labels on Instagram. Using AI, BU researchers found that the vast majority of social media posts didn’t include health labels warning of the harms of flavored nicotine

Island breeze, blue lagoon, dew drop—these aren’t the names of scented candles on display at your local home goods store. They’re flavors of synthetic nicotine used in e-cigarettes, often advertised with neon-electric colors and bright lettering to make them look like boxes of candy or fruit juice. But underneath all the flair, a specific label written clearly in black text on a white background is required by law to be there: a warning that says the product contains nicotine and that nicotine is an addictive substance.

Even though health warnings need to be written on physical products sold in stores and included in traditional advertisements, a new research study led by Boston University found that the majority of ads posted on social media by synthetic nicotine brands left the warnings off.

Synthetic nicotine is a substance created in a laboratory that has the same, or very similar, chemical structure to the nicotine derived from tobacco leaves. Despite marketing that labels it as “tobacco-free nicotine,” it still has the same addictive properties and additives that can cause lung damage, cancer, and other health issues. Plus, since it’s commonly paired with appealing flavors—made from chemicals that are known to be unsafe to inhale—it can be even harder to quit.

“When synthetic nicotine started appearing in products, we really wanted to know how it was being received and how it was being promoted,” says Traci Hong, a BU College of Communication professor of media studies.

[https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2823643](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2823643)