The Illegal Experimental Tobacco Marketplace I: Effects of Vaping Product Bans

Abstract

Objectives Banning vaping products may have unintended outcomes, such as increased demand for illegal products. This study experimentally examined the effects of a vaping ban and a flavored vaping ban on the probability of purchasing illicit vaping products, and factors affecting purchasing from a hypothetical illegal marketplace. Methods A crowdsourced sample of exclusive cigarette smokers, exclusive e-cigarette users, and frequent dual users (n=150) completed hypothetical purchasing trials in an Experimental Tobacco Marketplace under three conditions (no ban, vaping ban, flavored vaping ban). Participants chose to purchase in a hypothetical legal experimental tobacco marketplace (LETM) or illegal experimental tobacco marketplace (IETM). Vaping products were available in each marketplace depending on the condition. Other tobacco products were always available in the LETM. A hypothetical illicit purchase task with five fine amounts assessed the effect of monetary penalties. Results Participants from all groups were more likely to purchase from the IETM when product availability in the LETM was more restricted, with e-cigarette users being most affected. The likelihood of purchasing illegal products was systematically decreased as monetary penalties associated with the IETM increased, with e-cigarette users showing greater persistence in defending their illicit purchases. Conclusions Restricting vaping products from the marketplace may shift preference towards purchasing vaping products in the illegal marketplace. Nevertheless, penalties imposed on consumer's behavior might be effective in preventing illicit trade. The IETM is a methodological extension that supports the utility and flexibility of the ETM as a framework for understanding the impact of different tobacco regulatory policies.

Impact of existing and potential e-cigarette flavor restrictions on e-cigarette use among young adult e-cigarette users in 6 US metropolitan areas

“…These findings expand upon results from the San Francisco study that examined reactions to restrictions on non-tobacco flavored e-cigarettes, menthol cigarettes, and other non-tobacco flavored tobacco products, where most participants (60%) continued using flavored e-cigarettes via alternative sources, with fewer quitting all tobacco products (21%) or switching to cigarettes (19%) ( Yang et al, 2020 ). Current qualitative findings also align with experimental research indicating that individuals are more likely to purchase from illegal tobacco markets when product availability in legal markets is more restricted ( Freitas-Lemos et al, 2021 ).…”

Understanding data quality: Instructional comprehension as a practical metric in crowdsourced investigations of behavioral economic cigarette demand.

“…Brown et al, 2021). In fact, studies using the ETM (Freitas-Lemos, Keith, et al, 2021; e.g., Freitas-Lemos, Stein, et al, 2021) or hypothetical purchase tasks (Kaplan, Pope, et al, 2019; e.g., Peters et al, 2017) have used comprehension questions before task completion to assess whether participants understood the instructions. Novel to this study is the empirical examination of the association of instructional set comprehension and the reliability of participants’ responses and their expected task performance in individuals who smoke cigarettes.…”

Estimating the Impact of Tobacco Parity and Harm Reduction Tax Proposals Using the Experimental Tobacco Marketplace

“…Importantly, the current data underscore concerns regarding the effective magnitudes that achieve or approximate each tax proposal's goals. Further, recent data indicate that the presence of an illegal marketplace alters tobacco purchasing patterns in the ETM [61], with more restrictive conditions in the legal market increasing the likelihood of purchasing from the illegal market. Future research may wish to investigate whether the presence of an illegal marketplace would blunt the effects of the tax proposals observed here.…”