Abstract

Introduction: Tobacco use is a major public health problem, and every factor influencing its use needs to be evaluated. Media exposure plays a critical role, particularly in the iniation and normalization of tobacco use among young people. Frequently used media platforms also play an important role in the visibility of tobacco products. The aim of this study was to examine the presence or use of tobacco and tobacco products in the top 100 most viewed music videos on YouTube Türkiye during the weeks of February 3–9 and May 5–11, 2025.

Materials and Methods: In this descriptive study, official music videos of the top 100 songs on YouTube Music Türkiye were analyzed for the weeks of February 3–9 and May 5–11, 2025. The direct or indirect presence of tobacco products in the videos and song lyrics was evaluated using a systematic data collection form; the data obtained were analyzed using SPSS version 26.0.

Results: Direct visual depictions of tobacco were found in 24.2% of the videos in the week of February 3–9, 2025, and in 13.0% of the videos in the week of May 5–11, 2025. Direct mentions of tobacco in the song lyrics were observed in 7.0% of the videos in both periods. Rap and pop songs were the genres with the highest concentration of tobacco representations. Tobacco users were mostly male artists. Expressions related to tobacco were more frequently observed in songs themed around sadness, love, and rebellion. Music videos with tobacco references in their lyrics also contained visual depictions (p<0.05).

Conclusion: Tobacco representations are frequently encountered in the most popular music videos on YouTube Türkiye. This may constitute a risk factor that contributes to the normalization of tobacco use, increased intention to use tobacco, and earlier initiation among young people. . It is important to engage in advocacy for tobacco control and to strengthen educational measures on online platforms such as social media.

Keywords: tobacco, music videos, digital platforms

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Copyright and license

Copyright © 2026 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

How to cite

Balaban, N. B., Uğurlu, G., & Özcebe, L. H. (2026). Evaluation of tobacco and tobacco product content in the top 100 most popular music videos on YouTube Turkey between february 3-9, 2025 and may 5-11, 2025. Turkish Journal of Tobacco Control, 6(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.64511/TJTC.2026.35