A downstream social norms approach for curtailing e-cigarette waste: Promising social marketing interventions from consumer interactions

Irresponsibly disposed electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) waste poses significant public health and environmental harm. This study explores downstream social marketing interventions that can be used to curtail the growth of e-cigarette waste in South Africa through the lenses of the social norms app...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Roy Malon Shamhuyenhanzva, Asphat Muposhi, Delight Rufaro Hungwe
Other Authors: Department of Marketing, Retail Business and Sport Management, Vaal University of Technology, Vanderbijlpark, South Africa
Format: research article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publications 2023
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Online Access:https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/5563
https://doi.org/10.1177/0734242X231160083
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Summary:Irresponsibly disposed electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) waste poses significant public health and environmental harm. This study explores downstream social marketing interventions that can be used to curtail the growth of e-cigarette waste in South Africa through the lenses of the social norms approach. This study harnesses the power of social marketing to identify downstream interventions that can be used by marketers to curb the problem of e-cigarette waste. An exploratory research design and a qualitative method were employed. Six virtual focus groups were conducted to collect cross-sectional data from South African electronic cigarette users. Reciprocal altruism, social orientation value, moral licensing and ecological beliefs were found to be the main normative influences that characterise e-cigarette waste. The results support the proposition that social marketers should employ a downstream approach to develop interventions to curtail the growth of e-cigarette waste. Such measures are envisaged to complement upstream initiatives. This study offers new insights on how to manage e-cigarette waste in the context of an emerging market.