Young adult dual combusted cigarette and e-cigarette users' anticipated responses to a nicotine reduction policy and menthol ban in combusted cigarettes

Abstract

Background: The aim of the study was to assess young adult dual e-cigarette (EC) and combusted cigarette (CC) users' anticipated responses to a hypothetical very low nicotine content product standard and menthol ban in CC.

Methods: Data came from 240 young adult (18-29 years) dual CC and EC users recruited via Amazon Mechanical Turk between June 20-22, 2017. Descriptive statistics were used to report sample characteristics. McNemar's tests were used to assess differences between product categories in terms of anticipated responses to hypothetical regulations.

Results: A hypothetical very low nicotine content product standard in CC resulted in reported intentions to quit or reduce CC use and increase use of EC (p's<0.001). Hypothetical restrictions regarding the availability of menthol CC resulted in marginally significant reported intentions to increase EC use (p = 0.080). Anticipated responses to regulation were associated with baseline EC and CC use characteristics.

Conclusions: This work provides preliminary evidence of the impact that regulations regarding nicotine content and menthol in CC may have on the use of EC among young adult dual users.

Keywords: Cigarettes; Dual use; Menthol; Nicotine reduction; Tobacco regulatory science; e-cigarettes.