Effects of Cigarette and E-cigarette Flavors on Substitutability in the ETM
CompletedNAResults postedLast updated 9 December 2025
What this trial tests
NA trial testing Manipulation of nicotine/tobacco product price and availability in Cigarette Smoking Behavior in 25 participants. Completed in 25 May 2022.
Timeline
8 July 2021
Primary endpoint 18 May 2022
25 May 2022
Quick facts
Lead sponsor
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Phase
NA
Status
Completed
Study type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
na
Design
single group
Masking
none
Primary purpose
basic science
Enrollment
25
Start date
8 July 2021
Primary completion
18 May 2022
Estimated completion
25 May 2022
Sites
1 location across United States
Drugs / interventions tested
Manipulation of nicotine/tobacco product price and availability
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Who can join
Adults 21 to 65, any sex, with Cigarette Smoking Behavior. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.
Results — posted to ClinicalTrials.gov
Per-arm endpoint measurements with 95% confidence intervals where reported. Source: trial results section.
Nicotine/Tobacco Products SubstitutionPrimary· During the intervention, session 2 (1 day per participant)
The outcome measure of substitution will be collected and modeled using a virtual store. Participants will complete purchasing trials in an Experimental Tobacco Marketplace (ETM) with cigarettes increasing in price (cigarette type depending on condition). Other product prices will remain at market price. Substitutability occurs as a function of different flavor conditions. The degree to which other nicotine/tobacco products substitute for usual cigarettes under varying price and flavor restriction conditions will be assessed. Mixed-effects hierarchical linear regression will be used to evaluat
In 2009, the FDA banned all flavored conventional cigarettes except menthol. While no such ban exists for e-cigarettes, proposals have emerged in several regions. Flavors are key targets for tobacco control policy, making it crucial to understand their role in substitution.The first wave of the PATH study found that 80% of youth, 73% of young adults, and 29% of older smokers used flavored products. Over 80% of young adults first used flavored tobacco, compared to about 50% of adults. Among ever-users, current tobacco use was 32% higher if their first product was flavored.One study reported that 75% of flavored product users would quit if flavors were removed. These findings highlight the importance of user type in shaping policy and raise the question of whether banning flavors would increase quitting or drive substitution.
The Experimental Tobacco Marketplace (ETM) is a novel method for estimating the effects of new tobacco policies and products on consumption and substitution. By experimentally controlling product mix, prices, and policies, ETM simulates "real-world" conditions to assess potential policy impacts.This methodology has been used to study various policies in adult smokers under this grant: nicotine dose variations (Study 1), tobacco taxes and subsidies (Study 2), and workplace restrictions (Study 3). Study 1 found that cigarette and e-cigarette substitutability increased with e-liquid nicotine strength, with 24mg/mL showing the highest substitution. Study 2 showed that cigarette taxes reduced cigarette purchases and increased e-liquid purchases, while e-liquid subsidies increased e-liquid purchases but did not affect cigarette consumption.
No study to date has experimentally examined the effects of flavored tobacco products availability on consumer behavior. The rationale for this specific proposal is to explore prospectively the possible consequences of a flavor ban on consumption and substitution with tobacco products. The results might inform tobacco control policies.
Publications & conference data
No peer-reviewed publications indexed yet for this trial. Completed trials usually publish results within 12-18 months.
Drug + disease cross-links: matched in real time against Drug Landscape's normalised drug + company + condition tables
Sponsor: as reported to ClinicalTrials.gov by Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Last refreshed: 9 December 2025
Drug Landscape aggregates and links these public records for informational use only. Always verify against the primary source before clinical or regulatory decisions. Canonical URL: https://druglandscape.com/trial/NCT06910202.