About the project

This research aimed to understand how e-cigarettes are promoted, accessed, and used within a tightly regulated environment, by exploring the Australian online e-cigarette discourse, and the perspectives of e-cigarette users residing within the Greater Capital City Statistical Area of Perth, Western Australia.

To achieve this aim, a mixed-methods investigation was conducted, and the objectives were:

1. To identify and describe the messages presented in e-cigarette-related social media promotions and discussions and identify future directions for research, surveillance and regulation.

2. To investigate how e-cigarettes are portrayed and promoted on Twitter, and how this portrayal and promotion has emerged and trended over time (2012–2018) within an Australian context.

3. To identify key conversation trends and patterns over time (2012–2018), and discern the core voices, message frames and sentiment surrounding e-cigarette discussions on Twitter within an Australian context.

4. To examine adult e-cigarette users who reside within the Greater Capital City Statistical Area of Perth, their motivations for e-cigarette use, reinforcing influences, and association with the vaper subculture.

5. To examine how adult e-cigarette users residing within the Greater Capital City Statistical Area of Perth, navigate Western Australia’s restrictions to access vaping products and the health and safety issues they encounter.