Is "YouTube" telling or selling you something? Tobacco content on the YouTube video-sharing website

Abstract

The WWW is no longer a vehicle to simply retrieve information and purchase goods, it is now a fully interactive and participatory platform.⁷ Coined in 2004 as Web 2.0, the WWW is increasingly being driven by consumer-generated content.⁸ It is both timely and critical to examine tobacco marketing in the Web 2.0 era. We are particularly interested in websites that appeal to youth and young adults, the same target population for tobacco companies. Internet use by young people is part of their everyday life; in 2006, more than half of youth and young adult Australians (aged 15–24 years) used the internet on a daily basis.⁹ The website YouTube (www.youtube.com) is an ideal example of a youth-friendly website that embodies the Web 2.0 principles of participation. It has the potential to be a fruitful place for tobacco marketers to turn their efforts.