Testing Legally Feasible Options: Study 1
Condition: Tobacco Use
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The overall aim of this research is to experimentally evaluate different, legally-viable
      approaches to reducing the impact of the point-of-sale (POS) retail environment on adolescent
      tobacco use risk. This study will be investigating the regulations for four classes of
      tobacco products (cigarettes, e-cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, little cigars/cigarillos).
      Study 1 (study 1 out of 3 proposed) will examine whether eliminating the sale of flavored
      tobacco products at POS reduced adolescents' tobacco use risk.
    

Detailed description: 
      Tobacco advertising at retail point-of-sale (POS) includes promotional allowances that permit
      tobacco products to be advertised and sold at reduced cost to consumers (e.g., two-for-one
      specials); high visibility sale and therefore placement of hundreds of tobacco products on
      power walls; and the display of a large, diverse collection of poster advertisements on the
      exterior of the stores. Adolescents are at significant risk for having repeated exposures to
      this tobacco rich POS environment and such exposures contribute to increases in adolescent
      tobacco use. Although curbing the effect of the tobacco rich POS environment on adolescent
      tobacco use is a critical public health goal, some POS advertising regulations are unlikely
      to be viable in the United States because they impinge upon the tobacco industry's commercial
      free speech rights. For example, eliminating the tobacco power wall is probably not a viable
      option in the US as it has been successfully challenged in court by the tobacco industry. POS
      regulations that do not violate the industry's commercial free speech rights stand a better
      chance of being upheld by the courts. For example, eliminating tobacco product price
      promotions, reducing the availability of tobacco products by restricting the sale of flavored
      products, and restricting how much door/window space tobacco product posters can occupy at
      POS, all have been implemented as feasible and legally defensible regulatory options at POS.
      The evidence base supporting the efficacy of these initiatives is, however, almost
      non-existent - leaving them open to legal scrutiny. The overall aim of this research is to
      experimentally evaluate different, legally-viable approaches to reducing the impact of the
      POS retail environment on adolescent tobacco use risk. This research will be investigating
      the regulations for four classes of tobacco products (cigarettes, e-cigarettes, smokeless
      tobacco, little cigars/cigarillos): the extent to which eliminating tobacco product price
      promotions (Study 2), restricting how much door/window space tobacco posters can occupy at
      POS (Study 3), and eliminating the sale of flavored and/or mentholated tobacco products
      (Study 1) reduce adolescent tobacco-use risk. Each study will evaluate for possible gender
      and race (African-American vs Caucasian) differences. The studies will take place in the RAND
      StoreLab, a life-sized replica of a convenience store that was developed to experimentally
      evaluate how altering aspects of tobacco promotion at POS influences tobacco use. The present
      record is for Study 1.
    

Intervention name(s): Flavor Ban; Menthol Ban; All flavored and mentholated products available
Intervention type(s): Other; Other; Other
Intervention description(s): Only flavored tobacco products are banned; Mentholated products are banned; No bans: All tobacco products are available
Intervention MeSH terms: Menthol
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single (Participant)
Primary purpose: Prevention