Marketing of Illicit Drugs on Facebook: Access and Control

Fazia Akhtar; Asad Munir

doi:10.58921/jossams.05.01.0192

Fazia Akhtar
Asad Munir

DOI: https://doi.org/10.58921/jossams.05.01.0192

Keywords: : Illicit drugs on social media, Facebook and drugs, Quackery on social media, Illegal drug sale on Facebook, DRAP regulations for social media

Abstract

The study primarily revolves around the general patterns of content on illicit drugs available on Facebook such as frequency of posts/ads, nature of the products, appeals used in the ads, claims made and legal status of the product. It further examined how FB audiences engage in accessing the product; take interest give approval, commenting for acceptance or rejection of the product etc. Researchers followed quantitative content analysis for the study. Top ten Facebook pages were examined for each category of advertised product. The study concluded that most of advertisements or posts for all types of products were unpaid. Majority of the advertised drugs were related to the Skin problems and Weight (Loss/Gain). Cosmetic aesthetics were highly targeted by the advertisers. Skin products had the highest percentage of Comments. Overall health items gave preventative claims, whereas Weight (Loss/Gain) items had a promotional claim along with Body Fitness. Self-actualization appeal was highly used in the advertisements. Besides all that, majority of the products were not approved by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan.

References

Brace, I., Edwards, L., & Nancarrow, C. (2002). I Hear you Knocking … Can Advertising Reach Everybody in the
Target Audience? International Journal of Market Research , 1-17.
Chung, C., & Austria, K. (2010). Social Media Gratification and Attitude toward Social Media Marketing Messages:
A Study of the Effect of Social Media Marketing Messages on Online Shopping Value. EBSCO , 581-586.
Copeland, J., & Martin, G. (2004). Web Based Interventions for substance use disorders: A qualitative Review.
PubMed.Gov , 109-116.
Fung, C. H., Woo, H. E., & Asch, S. M. (2004). Controversies and Legal Issues of Prescribing and Dispensing
Medications Using the Internet. ELSVIER , 188-194.
Hastings, G., Stead, M., & Webb, J. (2004). Fear appeals in social marketing: Strategic and ethical reasons for concern.
Wiley Online Library.
Houck, M. M., & Siegel, J. A. (2015). Illicit drugs. Fundamentals of forensic science. 315-352.
Kathravan, D. C. (2019). ROLE OF ADVERTISEMENTS ON IMPULSIVE BUYING IN ELECTRONIC
RETAILING. Journal of Gujrat research society
Lian, B. A., & Mackey, T. (2009). Searching for Safety: Addressing Search Engine, Website, and Provider
Accountability for Illicit Online Drug Sales. American Journal of Law & Medicine , 125-184.
Macky, T. K., Liang, B. A., York, P., & Kubic, T. (2015). Counterfeit Drug Penetration into Global Legitimate
Medicine Supply Chains: A Global Assessment. PMC PubMed Central , 59–67.
Oliver, A. J. (2000). Internet pharmacies: regulation of a growing industry. PMC , 98-101.
Oyedokun-Alli, W. A. (2019). A Linguistic (Critical Discourse) Analysis of Consumer Products’ Advertising
in Nigeria. Advances in Language and Literary Studies .
Philip T. Kotler, G. A. (2010). Principles of Marketing, 13th Edition. pearson .
Rao, D. C., & Sankar, D. J. (2017). DIGITAL MARKETING AND ITS CHALLENGES. Airo International Research
Journal.
Ryan, B. C. (2018). Computer and Internet Use in the United States: 2016. American Community Survey Reports.
TStephen, A. (2015). The role of digital and social media marketing in consumer behavior. ELSEVIER .
Usman, M. (2013). Creation of Effective Advertising in the Persuasion of Target Audience. International Journal of
Economics, Finance and Management .
Williams, K. C. (2012). Fear Appeal Theory. International Journal of Economics and Business Research , 63-82