TikTok is one of the fastest-growing social media platforms. It is especially loved and predominantly used by teens and young adults, and the platform has gradually established itself as a mainstay in the social media industry. Originally created in 2016 by a Chinese company, TikTok became popular worldwide in 2018; with its exciting lip-sync and micro-video features, users can post and share videos that can be viewed by millions of people worldwide.
The mass reach of the platform and its high acceptance and usage by the youth has made the platform become an advertising tool for brands and companies who aim to get the attention of youth and teenagers.
As a result, TikTok has cashed in on it and has made it easy for brands to advertise their products on the platform in order to reach a huge number of viewers. By using the self-service platform on the app, one can easily select the type of ad they’d like to run and start creating videos to run these ads.
Vape companies are not left out of it as they have joined the numerous companies advertising their products using this platform. Even though the ban on cigarette companies preventing them from advertising their products on TV and social media does not affect vape companies, regulations have made it illegal to sell or advertise vape products to teens.
However, vape companies have found ways to promote their products on TikTok and discreetly package their products and sell them to teens and young adults. In many cases, these products are advertised and delivered stuffed inside other products to evade legal authorities or the prying eyes of parents.
E-cigarettes, as they are widely known, were initially seen to be a healthy replacement for traditional cigarettes, but research has proven that these products are just as harmful if not more harmful than cigarettes, especially to kids.
These products come in different sizes and shapes and are battery-powered and sleek in appearance, increasing the widespread demand for them amongst teens. The device heats up the liquid and produces aerosol or other forms of vapor. Inhaling this vapor is typically known as vaping.
One of the indications showing how popular vape ads have become on TikTok is the #VapingTrick trend. This trend, which has enjoyed millions of views, involves youths and kids creating different shapes of things with smoke vapors and posting on the platform.
Moreso, videos that are tagged with vaping and e-cigarette brands and keywords have hundreds of millions of views on the platform, further indicating the popularity of these companies and their products.
Vape adverts and videos are not hard to find when you visit TikTok, and some brands go as far as making videos that teach viewers how to use the devices with its different flavors, how to hide the products in other containers, and how to discreetly vape. These companies make these ads knowing that the higher populations of viewers on the app are kids and teenagers.
Vape companies have used the wide-reaching capabilities of the app to constantly create video adverts, and they enjoy massive acceptance because of the high demand for these products by young TikTok users.
Regulatory bodies are doing all they can to reduce the use of vape products by kids and youth below 21 through different measures. Policies that make age declarations compulsory before vape sales are made online, checking IDs of retailers and their sales catalog to make sure they are not selling to underage users are some of the measures being put in place.
With time, hopefully, these restrictions may get stricter and more hostile to reduce the usage of vape and vape products among teens.