Table 3.
Topics in E-Cigarette Users’ Negative Sentiment Tweets About Vaping (N=500 Tweets)
| Tweet category | n (% of tweets) | Illustrative examples (paraphrased to maintain the anonymity of the original posters) |
|---|---|---|
| Negative Sentiment (discouraging E-cigarette use and highlighting risks) | ||
| Health disadvantages of vaping (n=230; 46.0%) | ||
| Negative physical health symptoms | 129 (25.8) Serious=80 Joke=49 Informative=37 Affective=92 |
• Today, I read an article that bubble lungs were caused by vape carts and the pic was of a nicotine mod, so yeah, I didn't think about the safety of vaping until now but it seems risky. • My stomach hurts and I feel a “punched-in-the-chest” feeling. All I had this morning was vape dust. I feel like I'm waking the cancer up. • E-liquid contains calories and all the crappy chemicals in it messed with my metabolism and it made me gain weight. |
| Worry about COVID-19 infection | 69 (13.2) Serious=29 Joke=40 Informative=15 Affective=54 |
• Sharing vapes with random people during a pandemic is reckless and immoral because you share spit with everyone, you are basically a super spreader. The only people I share my vapes with are my brother, my wife and my best friends. • I'm fine with sharing my vape at school but I bet the 99% of people getting COVID from vaping would drop if people stopped sharing their vapes. • They should prioritize me for the COVID vaccine because I vape. |
| Nontherapeutic effects on the severity of mental health | 60 (12.0) Serious=13 Joke=47 Informative=2 Affective=58 |
• Experimented with vaping because the past few days was very stressful for me. Vaping didn't seem to relieve my stress. • Hitting the vape after washing down melatonin and zzzquil with valerian root tea at 3 am. It doesn't really help me sleep, it only makes me tired and light-headed. • I used to vape and drink to cope with depression. It wasn't really a proper decision, but I didn't see any other way. Still can't stay calm. I continued to self-harm and I'm sad. |
| Have smoking relapse | 41 (8.2) Serious=31 Joke=10 Informative=4 Affective=37 |
• I quit smoking 3 years ago with the help of a vape but I'm going back to the cigs until I pick up a proper vape again. • Bad news - vaping didn't work for me, I'm going back to smoking. I tried several of my favorite flavors and I'm still craving cigs. What's the point. |
| Subjective norms (n=192; 38.4%) |
||
| Lack of regulations | 110 (22.0) Serious=85 Joke=25 Informative=42 Affective=68 |
• Almost every day I see someone sneaking a vape in the middle of class, always when the professor isn't looking. Why do people think this is acceptable? I vape all the time, just not in class, or not in the bank. You are not allowed to vape in indoor areas. https://www.cdc.gov/statesystem/factsheets/ecigarette/ECigarette.html • My friends and I got addicted to vaping cause vape companies lie to us. Vape ads are out of control and we trust them more when they tell us something might be good for us. |
| Feel peer pressure | 69 (13.8) Serious=51 Joke=18 Informative=0 Affective=69 |
• My friends constantly offered me a vape and I felt peer pressured into vaping with them. I tried once and my fear is getting addicted to nicotine and not being able to quit. Am I overreacting? • I finally gave into peer pressure, and I regret. I turned myself into someone who wasn't myself and as a result, I felt crappy. |
| Conflicts with family and/or friends | 26 (5.2) Serious=9 Joke=17 Informative=0 Affective=26 |
• My wife hates smoking so I quit, then started vaping. She still considers this smoking so I'm hiding that and it makes me feel guilty. • Vaping isn't cool. I ditched my friend for “cooler” ones who vaped. I now realize they weren't my friends, but dictators of my life. |
| Perceived control (n=155; 31.0%) |
||
| Become addicted to vaping | 111 (22.2) Serious=65 Joke=46 Informative=29 Affective=82 |
• I have been addicted to nicotine by vaping for a while and it is not good for me. I hate it but can't stop. Need help. • I find vaping as addictive as cigs, it's not just a matter of nicotine. I used to vape all day the first year I started because I liked doing cloud-chasing, now I like its throat hit. It's hard to stop doing something when you like it, even if you know it's bad for your health. • I have linked many things to vaping, like vaping while taking a dump, vaping after a meal, vaping while driving… Quitting those behavioral patterns is more challenging than just doing it cold turkey. |
| Polysubstance use | 22 (4.4) Serious=4 Joke=18 Informative=0 Affective=22 |
• Not really anything is too strong for me anymore. I have tried CBD vapes to see if it would work to help me sleep but they didn't. My brain won't shut up unless I mix them with DMT edibles. • I've heard some success stories about salvia, read amphetamines can be vaped, been getting curious about vaping other psychedelics. |
CBD, Cannabidiol; DMT, N, N-Dimethyltryptamine.