NCT05370313

The Impact of Innovative Tax Proposals on Purchase Patterns

ETM Taxes Study 1: The Impact of Innovative Tax Proposals on Purchase Patterns

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 285 (actual)
• Sponsor: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 21 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

This study will investigate the effect of four tax proposals (i.e. Tobacco Parity, Nicotine-Content, Harm-Reduction, and Modified Risk Tobacco Product-related taxes) on tobacco product purchasing patterns.

Detailed description

This study experimentally examines the effects of largely untried integrated tax proposals. Four tax proposals will be modeled: Tobacco Parity, Nicotine-Content, Harm-Reduction, and MRTP. Tobacco products are placed into three tax tiers: high-, medium-, and no-tax, according to the goals of each proposal. In a within-subjects design, cigarette smokers will complete two control (market price) trials and four conditions in the Experimental Tobacco Marketplace, representing each of the four tax proposals. Within each condition, taxes will be increased proportionally across 5 trials (relative to tax tier) to examine how cigarette purchasing, substitution, and poly-tobacco purchasing (i.e., diversity in products purchased) are affected.

Conditions

• Cigarette Smoking

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Market Price Condition (control)	Nicotine/tobacco products available in the Experimental Tobacco Marketplace at market price. Cigarette taxes increased across trials at the same magnitudes used in the tax conditions.
BEHAVIORAL	Tobacco Parity Tax Condition	Tobacco products in the Experimental Tobacco Marketplace are placed into three tax tiers: high-, medium-, and no-tax. In this condition, all tobacco products are placed in the high-tax tier while products that do not contain tobacco (e.g., herbal cigarettes and nicotine-free ENDS) are placed in the medium-tax tier. Nicotine Replacement Therapy products are placed in the no-tax tier.
BEHAVIORAL	Nicotine-Content Tax Condition	Tobacco products in the Experimental Tobacco Marketplace are placed into three tax tiers: high-, medium-, and no-tax. In this condition, products with greater than 3 mg nicotine per single unit are placed in the high-tax tier, products with 0.6-3.0 mg/unit in the medium-tax tier, and those with 0.5 mg/unit or less in the no-tax tier.
BEHAVIORAL	Harm-Reduction Tax Condition	Tobacco products in the Experimental Tobacco Marketplace are placed into three tax tiers: high-, medium-, and no-tax. In this condition, all combustible products with high abuse liability are placed in the high-tax tier. All non-combustible products or combustible products with low abuse liability are placed in the medium-tax tier. Nicotine Replacement Therapy products are placed in the no-tax tier.
BEHAVIORAL	Modified Risk Tobacco Product (MRTP) Tax Condition	Tobacco products in the Experimental Tobacco Marketplace are placed into three tax tiers: high-, medium-, and no-tax. In this condition, all non-MRTP tobacco products are placed in the high-tax tier, MRTPs are placed in the medium-tax tier, and Nicotine Replacement Therapy products are placed in the no-tax tier.

Timeline

• Start date: 2023-04-11
• Primary completion: 2025-05-27
• Completion: 2025-06-10
• First posted: 2022-05-11
• Last updated: 2025-09-18

Locations

2 sites across 1 country: United States