Testing the ETM: Examination and Comparison of Different Methods

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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This study will experimentally assess the comparability of in-lab and remote procedures with hypothetical and real ETM purchase outcomes.

Detailed Description
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In a between-group within-subject repeated measures design, participants will be randomly assigned to one of two procedures (in-lab or remote; between-group) and complete two conditions (real and hypothetical; within-subject), which include six trials assessing increasing cigarette prices.

Official Title
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Testing the Experimental Tobacco Marketplace: Examination and Comparison of Different Methods

Conditions
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Cigarette Smoking

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Reat ETM
* Behavioral: Hypothetical ETM


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Provide informed consent Be at least 21 years of age or older Stable tobacco use patterns for at least three months Smoke at least 5 cigarettes daily Use other tobacco products less than weekly Have access to a computer and internet 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

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 21 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Basic Science
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Crossover Assignment
Interventional Model Description: Participants will complete two Experimental Marketplace conditions, representing one with real and one with hypothetical purchasing outcomes. Within each condition, taxes will be increased proportionally across 6 trials to examine how cigarette purchasing, substitution, and poly-tobacco purchasing (i.e., diversity in products purchased) are affected.
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: In-lab procedures<br>Exclusive cigarette smokers will be recruited and will experience all study procedures in the laboratory. | Behavioral: Reat ETM<br>* Exclusive cigarette smokers will be recruited and will be exposed to the real ETM condition in which tobacco purchases are real and they receive products from one randomly selected trial.<br>Behavioral: Hypothetical ETM<br>* Exclusive cigarette smokers will be recruited and will be exposed to the hypothetical ETM condition in which tobacco purchases are hypothetical and they don't receive any products.<br>|
| Experimental: Remote procedures<br>Exclusive cigarette smokers will be recruited and will experience all study procedures remotely. | Behavioral: Reat ETM<br>* Exclusive cigarette smokers will be recruited and will be exposed to the real ETM condition in which tobacco purchases are real and they receive products from one randomly selected trial.<br>Behavioral: Hypothetical ETM<br>* Exclusive cigarette smokers will be recruited and will be exposed to the hypothetical ETM condition in which tobacco purchases are hypothetical and they don't receive any products.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Cigarette demand | Participants will complete purchasing trials in an Experimental Tobacco Marketplace (ETM) with cigarettes increasing in price. Other product prices in the ETM will remain constant. To obtain dependent measures of demand, participants' purchasing of the price-manipulated commodity in the ETM task will be fit to a modified exponential equation to quantify the relationship between the price of each commodity and purchasing: Q=Q0*10k(exp(-αQ0C)-1) where Q is purchasing of the commodity, C is the price, Q0 is the derived initial purchasing without cost constraints (demand intensity), k is the span of the function in logarithmic units, and α is the demand elasticity. | 1 day | 
| Nicotine/tobacco products substitution | Participants will complete purchasing trials in an Experimental Tobacco Marketplace (ETM) with cigarettes increasing in price. Other product prices in the ETM will remain constant. To obtain estimates of substitution of price-constant products in the different ETM conditions, the investigators will use ordinary least squares regression to model the relationship of the price-manipulated product to predict total quantity purchased of the price-constant product. | 1 day |