Effects of Tax Proposals and Cigarette Availability on Tobacco Purchasing

The Impact of Availability of Conventional Cigarettes and LNCs in the Context of Innovative Tax Proposals

This study will investigate the effects of normal-nicotine versus low-nicotine cigarette availability in the context of four tax proposals (Tobacco Parity, Nicotine-Content, Harm-Reduction, and Modified Risk Tobacco Product-based taxes) on tobacco product purchasing patterns in a virtual marketplace.

In a within/between subjects design, the investigators will use an Experimental Tobacco Marketplace (ETM) to systematically impose four innovative tobacco/nicotine tax proposals (Tobacco Parity, Nicotine-Content, Harm-Reduction, and Modified Risk Tobacco Product-related taxes) covering a broad range of tax magnitudes. Participants will complete two control trials and one tax proposal condition, with and without the conventional cigarettes available in the marketplace. Each condition (with and without conventional cigarettes) will include five price scenarios, with tax rates increasing across scenarios by a multiplicative factor. Tobacco products are placed into three tax tiers: high-, medium-, and no-tax, according to the goals of each proposal.

Inclusion Criteria:

• provide informed consent
• provide a breath carbon monoxide sample ≥ 8 ppm,
• be at least 21 years of age (the legal age to purchase tobacco),
• smoke at least 10 cigarettes daily, and
• use other tobacco products less than weekly.

Exclusion Criteria:

• report uncontrolled physical or mental health conditions (e.g., uncontrolled diabetes, high blood pressure, major depressive disorder, etc.),
• use of smoking cessation medications (e.g., nicotine replacement, bupropion, varenicline) in the past 30 days,
• report concrete, immediate plans to alter/quit using their usual tobacco products in the next 30 days,
• be pregnant or lactating, or
• have plans to move out of the area during the experiment.