Sun, 11/19: 11:00 AM - 12:15 PM EST
Gaylord National
Room: Chesapeake J/K - Convention Center, Ballroom Level
Use of e-cigarettes and vapes among adolescents continues to be a major public health concern. Health communication efforts such as warning messages and communication campaigns can discourage e-cigarette use among adolescents by influencing knowledge, beliefs, and behavior. However, to do so, studies are need to identify the most promising message themes and messages based on the latest evidence about the health harms of e-cigarettes and vapes. Participants were a nationally representative sample of 1,603 US adolescents aged 13–17 years, recruited in the summer of 2022. Adolescents were randomly assigned to view 7 vaping prevention message themes (nicotine addiction, chemical harms, health symptoms, health effects on organs, mental health, cosmetic effects, and monetary cost) and 1 control message theme (e.g., vape litter). Participants rated each message on perceived message effectiveness (PME). Results of linear mixed models indicated that all vaping prevention themes out-performed control messages, with chemical harms, health effects on organs, and nicotine addiction message themes scoring the highest. In secondary analyses, we found that messages using the word "you" and longer messages were also rated higher on PME. We discuss implications for developing more effective vaping prevention messages and campaigns.