Studying the Impacts of Higher Taxes and Bans on Electronic Cigarettes to Improve Public Health

Официальное название

Design Tiered Tax Rates for Electronic Cigarettes (ECs) Based on Their Appeals to Youth and Young Adults

Обзор

This clinical trial studies whether imposing higher taxes and bans on electronic cigarettes (EC) with appealing features impacts tobacco use among current and susceptible adolescents and young adults (AYA) EC users and adults who use EC or are open to EC use. ECs are currently the most popular form of nicotine or tobacco product in the United States. Compared to burned cigarette products, ECs generally pose fewer short-term harms, making them a promising tool for lowering users' exposure to toxins and cancer-causing chemicals from smoking, promoting better public health outcomes. However, evidence shows that EC marketing has increased overall initiation into nicotine use among AYAs, and that EC users are at a higher risk of becoming smokers, which could have negative public health outcomes. Therefore, understanding the public health impact of EC use and regulation remains a major goal in tobacco control research. This trial studies different scenarios which impose higher taxes or bans on ECs with appealing features. Researchers hope that by studying participant responses to the different scenarios they may be able to identify which ones best discourage EC use among AYAs while promoting adult EC users to quit smoking, which may improve public health.

Подробное описание

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

I. Provide empirical evidence on how tiered EC taxes - imposing higher taxes on ECs with AYA appealing features - impact EC use, combustible tobacco use, and the prevalence of cross-border or illegal purchases.

II. Examine how tiered taxes on AYA-appealing features (flavors, product type, nicotine concentration) impact EC use and combustible tobacco smoking among current and susceptible AYA EC users. (Aim 1) III. Assess how tiered taxes on AYA-appealing features impact EC and combustible tobacco smoking among adult smokers who either use or are open to using ECs. (Aim 2) IV. Compare tiered EC taxes with sales bans on ECs with AYA-appealing features in terms of their impacts on tobacco use, cross-border shopping, and illegal EC purchases. (Aim 3)

OUTLINE: Participants are assigned to 1 of 3 aims.

AIMS 1 \& 2: Participants complete volumetric choice experiments (VCEs) over 20 minutes on study with random assignment to: 1) Nicotine levels (low versus \[vs.\] high); 2) Flavors (fruit/sweet vs. ice vs. menthol/mint vs. tobacco); 3) EC tax bases (by product type vs. by flavor vs. by nicotine concentration), and 4) rate levels (status quo \[equal rates\] vs. 50% higher vs. 100% higher vs. 200% higher) among six different products (tanks, pods, disposables, cigarettes, cigars, and oral nicotine pouches \[ONPs\]) and opt-out options (none of the six products or quitting).

AIM 3: Participants are randomized to 1 of 2 groups.

GROUP 1: Participants complete VCEs over 20 minutes on study with random assignment to: 1) nicotine levels (low versus vs. high) and 2) flavors (fruit/sweet vs. ice vs. menthol/mint vs. tobacco) with optimal tiered tax conditions among four different products (preferred EC type, cigarettes, cigars, ONPs) and opt-out options (none of the six products or quitting).

GROUP 2: Participants complete VCEs over 20 minutes on study with random assignment to: 1) nicotine levels (low versus vs. high), 2) flavors (fruit/sweet vs. ice vs. menthol/mint vs. tobacco), and 3) purchasing sources (out-of-state legal vs. local/online illegal, vs. local legal) with banned conditions among four different products (preferred EC type, cigarettes, cigars, ONPs) and opt-out options (none of the six products or quitting).

Вмешательства

• Другое Discrete Choice Study
  Complete EC tax base, rate, nicotine level, and flavor VCEs
• Другое Discrete Choice Study
  Complete tiered tax condition VCEs
• Другое Discrete Choice Study
  Complete banned condition VCEs
• Другое Survey Administration
  Ancillary studies

Первичные конечные точки

• Electronic cigarette (EC) use among adolescent and young adult (AYA) current/susceptible users (Aim 1) [Срок оценки: Up to 2 years]
• Combustible tobacco smoking among AYA current/susceptible users (Aim 1) [Срок оценки: Up to 2 years]
• EC use among adult smokers who use or are open to ECs (Aim 2) [Срок оценки: Up to 2 years]
• Combustible tobacco smoking among adult smokers who use or are open to ECs (Aim 2) [Срок оценки: Up to 2 years]
• Tobacco use among AYA EC current/susceptible users (Aim 3) [Срок оценки: Up to 2 years]
• Cross-border shopping among AYA EC current/susceptible users (Aim 3) [Срок оценки: Up to 2 years]
• Illegal EC purchases among AYA EC current/susceptible users (Aim 3) [Срок оценки: Up to 2 years]
• Tobacco use among adult smokers who use or are open to ECs (Aim 3) [Срок оценки: Up to 3 years]
• Cross-border shopping among adult smokers who use or are open to ECs (Aim 3) [Срок оценки: Up to 2 years]
• Illegal EC purchases among adult smokers who use or are open to ECs (Aim 3) [Срок оценки: Up to 3 years]

Критерии участия

Критерии включения

• AYAs aged 15-24 who are daily or nondaily users of ECs and are not smoking in the past 30 days
• AYA tobacco nonusers aged 15-24 who are susceptible to EC or tobacco use (i.e., curiosity about the product, intention to try it in the near future, and likely response if a best friend were to offer them the product)
• Adults aged 18+ who are daily or nondaily users of ECs and combustible tobacco in the past 30 days
• Adults aged 18+ who are daily or nondaily users of combustible tobacco in the past 30 days, not currently using ECs but are open to trying ECs

Критерии приведены из реестра в оригинале (на английском). Окончательную оценку соответствия проводит исследовательский центр.

Здоровые добровольцы: Да

Дизайн исследования

Распределение

Рандомизированное

Модель

Последовательный дизайн

Маскирование

Открытое

Основная цель

Профилактика

Центры проведения

США · 1 центр

• Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center — Columbus

Идентификаторы

NCT: NCT07581041 · OSU-25157 · NCI-2026-02421

Первоисточники (государственные реестры)

• ClinicalTrials.gov (NIH, США)

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