News events and their relationship with US vape sales: an interrupted time series analysis

Abstract

Objective News coverage around vaping-related events may have furthered misconceptions regarding the relative harms of vapes. Such information may influence the decisions of individuals who smoke, around switching to vaping, potentially affecting the overall tobacco mortality burden. Thus, it is prudent to study how news events (e.g., 2019 vaping illness epidemic) are associated with vape sales in the United States, to possibly reduce the tobacco mortality burden. Methods We used weekly retail sales data for e-cigarettes (30 December 2018 - 28 December 2019) from the US retail scanner data compiled by the Nielsen Company. We used an interrupted time series design with segmented regression analysis to determine immediate and longer-term impacts of individual news events (e.g. Trump administration’s planned ban on some flavored vaping products) on vape sales, controlling for pre-existing trends. Results Unexpectedly, we noted a statistically significant positive relationship between vape sales and the CDC announcing an investigation into vaping-related illnesses (Change: 6.59%, Estimate: 0.066; 95% CI: 0.036, 0.092; P < 0.001). We also observed a similar positive association between vape sales and the CDC’s announcement on the link between Vitamin E acetate and EVALI (Change: 2.93%, Estimate: 0.029; 95% CI: 0.003, 0.055; P < 0.05). There was a steep decline in sales after these events. Conclusions News events may be associated with US vape sales. Findings have implications for the management of risk perceptions around vaping to improve health outcomes of tobacco users. Information-based policy instruments can be applied to balance the effects of news events that may influence vape sales.

Cannabis Vape Product Sales in California Following CDC's Initial Advisory About Lung Injuries

“…Residuals from the interrupted time-series analyses indicate a decline in cannabis vape sales and vape market share, particularly among adults older than 25 years. The reduced market share (-20%) in this age group aligns well with declining national ENDS sales (-21% to -29%) (13,22). For older adults, the reduction in market share of cannabis vape products persisted following dissemination of the CDC's advisory and never returned to pre-EVALI levels.…”

“…Next, we combined the residuals of vape sales for all 156 weeks and examined whether vape sales fell below the 95% detection interval in the twelve weeks immediately following the first EVALI report. Closer examination of residual values in the twelve week period was based on the approximate period of rapid decline of ENDS sales reported in other studies (22,23).…”

Online platforms' framing around vaping

“…The recent introduction of alternative forms of nicotine products into the marketplace (e.g., e-cigarettes/vapes, heated tobacco products, and smokeless tobacco) has led to a more complex informational environment. [1][2][3][4] The scientific consensus is that vape aerosol contains fewer numbers and lower levels of toxicants than smoke from combustible tobacco cigarettes. 5 Among youth in the United States, adolescent nicotine vaping use increased from 2017 to 2019 but then started declining in 2020, which includes a decline in daily vaping as well.…”

“…Most research around vaping on online platforms centers on responses to the 2020 outbreak of EVALI, 3,15,21,22 or content analysis of vaping. 23 We provide a descriptive overview on how vaping is framed on various online platforms.…”

“…The recent introduction of alternative forms of nicotine products into the marketplace (e.g., e‐cigarettes/vapes, heated tobacco products, and smokeless tobacco) has led to a more complex informational environment 1–4 . The scientific consensus is that vape aerosol contains fewer numbers and lower levels of toxicants than smoke from combustible tobacco cigarettes 5 .…”