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

Conditions

• Tobacco-Related Carcinoma

Eligibility Criteria

Sex

ALL

Age

15 Years - N/A

Healthy Volunteers

Accepted

Interventions

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

Study Details

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.

Key Dates

Start date

Aug 1, 2026

Status verified

Apr 2026

Primary completion

Dec 31, 2027

Completion

Dec 31, 2027

Study Design

Enrollment

3,400 participants (estimated)

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

SEQUENTIAL

Primary purpose

PREVENTION

Arms

• Experimental: Aim 3 group 1 (tiered tax condition VCEs)
  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).
• Experimental: Aim 3 group 2 (banned condition VCEs)
  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).
• Experimental: Aims 1 & 2 (EC tax base and rate VCEs)
  Participants complete VCEs over 20 minutes on study with random assignment to: 1) Nicotine levels (low 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).

Primary Outcome Measure

Electronic cigarette (EC) use among adolescent and young adult (AYA) current/susceptible users (Aim 1) [ Time Frame: Up to 2 years ]

Central Contacts

• The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center
  800-293-5066
  [email protected]

Locations (1)

Find similar trials in Columbus, OH

Related Studies

• Impact of Behavior Modification Interventions and Lung Cancer Screening on Smoking Cessation in People Living With HIV: A Feasibility Study
  Recruiting · AIDS Malignancy Consortium · La Jolla, California
• Effects of Tobacco Cut and Nicotine Form on the Abuse Liability of Moist Snuff
  Recruiting · Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center · Columbus, Ohio
• Informing Oral Nicotine Pouch Regulations to Promote Public Health
  PHASE2 · Recruiting · Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center · Columbus, Ohio
• Manipulating E-Cigarette Nicotine to Promote Public Health
  Recruiting · Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center · Columbus, Ohio