Open AccessE-cigarette Product Preferences among Adult Smokers: A Discrete Choice Experiment
Author(s) -
Ce Shang,
Scott R. Weaver,
Justin S. White,
Jidong Huang,
James nemaker,
KaiWen Cheng,
Frank J. Chaloupka
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
tobacco regulatory science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2333-9748
DOI - 10.18001/trs.6.1.7
Subject(s) - menthol , multinomial logistic regression , preference , nicotine , product (mathematics) , harm , willingness to pay , psychology , medicine , demography , perception , social psychology , economics , mathematics , statistics , microeconomics , psychiatry , chemistry , geometry , organic chemistry , neuroscience , sociology
Objectives: In this study, we used a discrete choice experiment (DCE) conducted August-October 2017 to examine electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) product preferences in a national sample of adult smokers (N = 1154) who were also using ENDS or had not ruled out future use. Methods: The DCE evaluated 5 ENDS attributes: relative harm; effectiveness for helping smokers quit; nicotine strength; flavor; and price. We asked participants to choose among their own cigarettes, 2 ENDS products whose attributes varied across tasks, or none. We analyzed ENDS preferences using multinomial, nested, and mixed logit regressions. Results: Smokers preferred ENDS that are less harmful than cigarettes, are effective in helping smokers quit, are lower priced, and are not menthol-flavored. The marginal willingness to pay for an ENDS product was $8.40 when less harmful than cigarettes, $4.13 when of unknown effectiveness in helping quitting ($13.90 when effective), and $3.37 when ENDS are not menthol-flavored. Furthermore, the overall flavor preference is driven by tobacco smokers, not by menthol cigarette smokers who do prefer menthol-flavored ENDS. Conclusions: Policies that affect perceptions of ENDS effectiveness in promoting cessation and their relative harm may alter smokers' ENDS preferences. Regulating flavors and price also may influence adult smokers' ENDS preference.