Clinical trial NCT05370313: The Impact of Innovative Tax Proposals on Purchase Patterns
Official title: ETM Taxes Study 1: The Impact of Innovative Tax Proposals on Purchase Patterns
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: RECRUITING
Phase: NA
Conditions: Cigarette Smoking
Lead sponsor: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Roswell Park Cancer Institute
First posted: 2022-05-11
Enrollment: 280
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 21
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Intervention model description: Participants will complete two Experimental Marketplace conditions, representing one control condition and one of the four tax proposals. 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.
Primary purpose: BASIC_SCIENCE

Brief 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-between subject design (tax proposals between subjects; control condition within subject), cigarette smokers will complete two conditions in the Experimental Tobacco Marketplace, representing one control condition and one of the four tax proposals. Within each condition, taxes will be increased proportionally across 6 trials (relative to tax tier) to examine how cigarette purchasing, substitution, and poly-tobacco purchasing (i.e., diversity in products purchased) are affected.

Eligibility criteria: 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 5 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.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Quantity of Tobacco Products Purchased in the High-Tax Tier - Product demand (intensity and elasticity)
timeFrame: 1 day
measure: Quantity of Tobacco Products Purchased in the Medium- and No-tax tiers - Product substitution (intensity and slope)
timeFrame: 1 day
measure: Poly-tobacco purchasing
timeFrame: 1 day
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Buffalo
country: United States
facility: Roswell Cancer Research Institute
state: New York
city: Roanoke
country: United States
facility: Fralin Biomedical Research Institute
state: Virginia
Study officials:
affiliation: Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC
name: Warren K Bickel, Ph.D.
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: