Pharmacological topics of interest for young people: misinformation on TikTok is common

TikTok is a popular social media platform for young people. This paper aims to investigate the quality of pharmacological content of interest to young people on TikTok. 121 TikTok posts were analysed. The main parameters chosen were presence of misinformation, number of likes/views/comments, advertisement, occupational group, and source of reference. Sex hormones, opioids, and illicit drugs were the most popular topics. Eleven (9%) of 121 posts contained an advertisement. There was significantly more misinformation present in these videos than in posts without advertising. Most posts displayed no source of reference for the given claims (76%). The largest occupational group were influencers with 53 of 121 created videos. Pharmacological education was scarce among content generators. Thirty-two percent of posts contained misinformation, with influencers contributing overproportionally to misinformation. TikTok covers many pharmacological topics of interest to young people. Unfortunately, poor or no referencing of sources and misinformation are common. Content generators often lack proper pharmacological qualification. There is a need for a closer analysis of other social media regarding pharmacological topics. Especially children are estimated to be highly influenced by the portrayal of pharmacological content on social media platforms resulting in possible danger for their health. Protective guidelines for using TikTok and global awareness must be established. Conversely, TikTok must be actively used by official institutions to disseminate correct pharmacological information.