Responses of Adults Smoking Nondaily and Daily in the Experimental Tobacco Marketplace

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Tobacco Use; Cigarette Use

• Registration Number: NCT06988371
• Lead Sponsor: Bethany Shorey Fennell

Brief Summary

The goal of this project is to learn about the potential impact of tobacco regulations that could affect the availability of tobacco products among adults who smoke nondaily and daily. Nondaily smoking is increasingly common and tobacco regulation research should consider how FDA actions may impact this group. Participants will be asked to complete online surveys and tests, online shopping sessions in a simulated Experimental Tobacco Marketplace. Reactions and decisions of adults who smoke nondaily and daily will be compared.

Detailed Description

After granting informed consent, participants will complete the single assessment.

First, investigators will collect information from participants on personal characteristics, substance use patterns and addiction severity, and behavioral and cognitive tasks that measure components of our behavioral economic model of product valuation.

Experimental Tobacco Marketplace. In this procedure, participants will complete purchasing scenarios in a realistic tobacco/nicotine product marketplace to model and examine the impact of each of the proposed tobacco product regulations. Participants will be seated in front of a computer to access a simulated online tobacco marketplace with an interface similar to many online merchants. This will allow participants to browse through the selection of tobacco products and add as many as they desire of each product to the virtual shopping cart. Each product will have the price clearly displayed along with an image and description of the product. The selection of products will vary based on the particular regulatory scenario that is being modeled. In each pricing scenario during each marketplace session, participants will be asked to make nicotine-product purchases sufficient for one week's use from this marketplace. During a purchasing session, the participant will be provided with a virtual budget that matches their actual weekly budget for nicotine/tobacco products, a procedure our team has shown to generate realistic results. Participants will use that virtual budget to indicate which selection of products they would purchase from those available in the marketplace.

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2025-04-29
• Study First Submitted QC: 2025-05-15
• Study First Posted: 2025-05-23
• Study Start: 2025-08-18
• Primary Completion: 2025-08-29
• Study Completion: 2025-08-29
• Status Verified: 2025-09
• Last Update Submitted: 2025-09-09
• Last Update Posted: 2025-09-16

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 695

Inclusion Criteria

• At least 18 years old
• Consume cigarettes 4-30 days per month
• Have no plans to quit nicotine/tobacco products
• Read and understand English

Exclusion Criteria

Not provided

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Aggregate behavioral economic demand across all participants under the proposed regulatory environments	Baseline	Participants will complete trials of the Experimental Tobacco Marketplace wherein the price of a target commodity will be increased. Nonlinear mixed effects modeling will be used to fit a curve to estimate the number of products purchased at each price and the analysis will result in an measure of overall price sensitivity under each of the regulatory conditions.
Aggregate behavioral economic substitution across all participants under the proposed regulatory environments	Baseline	Participants will complete trials of the Experimental Tobacco Marketplace wherein the price of alternative products will be fixed across trials and their usual product will change price. Mixed effects modeling will be used to fit a curve to estimate the slopes and intercepts of these alternative products, revealing the degree to which participants will choose to purchase each alternative product as the price of the participant's usual product increases.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Hypothetical quantity purchased in purchase tasks	Baseline	Measures valuation by assessing hypothetical consumption across a price range and across the range of products used by participants in the past 60 days.
Delay Discounting Tasks	Baseline	Assesses valuation for future money and nicotine products.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

University of Kentucky; 🇺🇸 Lexington, Kentucky, United States