Tobacco-Related Images on Instagram’s Persian-Language Pages and Audience Attraction Rates

Social media can be powerful tools to influence high-risk behaviors. This study aimed to evaluate tobacco-related images on Instagram’s Persian-language pages and their audience attraction rates.

This cross-sectional study included 1870 Instagram posts with cigar, cigarette, e-cigarette, tobacco, vape, and shisha/waterpipe/hookah hashtags. The number of likes and comments for these posts were recorded, and the image type, the attitude of the audience, and the type of caption were noted as well.

In general, 500 images (26.7%) had #cigar/cigarette, while 30 (1.6%), 470 (25.1%), 650 (34.8%), 70 (3.7%), and 150 (8%) images had #e-cigarette, #shisha/#waterpipe/#hookah, # tobacco, #juice, and #vape hashtags, respectively. The most common type of image was product images (52.4%). The audience’s attitude towards the images was mostly positive (93.2%). In addition, the most common caption type was sales (76.5%). There was a significant correlation between the number of likes and comments with image hashtags, audience attitude, and caption type. The highest number of likes and comments belonged to images with shisha/waterpipe/hookah hashtags and a positive audience attitude. The sales caption type had the highest number of likes, while the encouragement caption type had the highest number of comments. Eventually, text image types had the highest number of comments.

Given the high promotion of tobacco-related posts on Instagram, policymakers should take the necessary measures to reduce the volume of tobacco advertisements.