(TheConservativeTimes.org) – TikTok is a social media platform that can entertain you, connect you with new friends, and let you buy things through the platform itself.
The shopping feature on TikTok has had mass amounts of interest and popularity, which has inspired brands to put their products on the social media platform. With this in mind, a study has shown that TikTok has also been selling vaping products to teenagers. The advertising and sale of vaping products have become common on the platform according to the study.
Page Dobbs, an associate professor of public health at the University of Arkansas, spoke out about vaping products and warned parents of this online behavior.
“Parents should be aware that children may be receiving e-cigarette products through the mail. These self-proclaimed small businesses are targeting youth by advertising that they don’t check for identification,” she said.
Vaping is prohibited among minors, but an estimated five million middle school and high school students reported using e-cigarettes last year.
Researchers found an array of vaping or e-cigarette-related hashtags being used on TikTok to promote vaping products. They also found that some vendors who were targeting teenagers were putting the vaping products in bundles with products like candy or lip gloss to conceal that it contained a vaping product.
Dobbs warned, “If your child receives a bundle of candy or beauty products in the mail, check inside the packaging or inside the scrunchie with a zipper.”
Almost half of the videos posted about selling paying products didn’t require any age verification or show any age restrictions on buying the products.
Dobbs said, “Policymakers and enforcement agencies should be aware that these products are being shipped internationally, meaning people are circumventing tobacco laws in multiple countries.”
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