How US Vapors Choose Among Different E-Cigarette (EC) Models and Cigarettes in Response to Prices - Tobacco Online Policy Seminar

Sep 20, 2026

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How US adult e-cigarette (EC) users choose among six EC types and cigarettes under different prices is studied using a volumetric choice experiment (VCE). The analysis targets own- and cross-price elasticities, including substitution between EC types and between ECs and conventional cigarettes. Background and motivation address rising EC popularity and state/local excise taxes, emphasizing gaps in prior sales or cross-sectional evidence that often cannot control for unobserved user heterogeneity or dual-use allocations.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages30

Reading Time1 h 16 min

AccessFree to download

Disclosure

Co-authors

Employing Volumetric Choice Experiment (VCE)

Background & Motivation

Study Design and Advantages

Research Goals and Product Types

How US vapors choose among different e-cigarette (EC) models & cigarettes in response to prices Sooa Ahn Ph. D. Candidate (ABD) GRA, Center for Tobacco Research & Department of Economics, The Ohio State University Tobacco Online Policy Seminar, 3/1/2024 The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center–Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute Disclosure This research is funded by the National Cancer Institute (R21CA249757 ; PI: Ce Shang; 9/16/2021-8/30/2023) . The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) . None of the authors have received funding from the tobacco industry or e-cigarette companies. Drs Shang and Bridges report the following funding history: NIH, Food and Drug Administration, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, American Heart Association, Canadian Institutes for Health Research, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Presbyterian Health Foundation, Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust, World Heart Federation. The authors declare no conflicts of interest. 2 Co-authors • Shaoying Ma, PhD, Center for Tobacco Research (CTR), The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center (OSUCCC) • Hojin Park, PhD, CTR, OSUCCC • Qian Yang, MPH, CTR, OSUCCC • John Bridges, PhD, Department of Bioinformatics, OSU College of Medicine • Ce Shang, PhD, Department of Internal Medicine, OSU College of Medicine; CTR, OSUCCC 3 􀂃 Employ a volumetric choice experiment (VCE) for adult EC users in the US to study own and cross elasticities among six different e-cigarettes (EC) types & cigarettes 􀂃 Different EC types substitute each other 􀂃 Higher prices and taxes on ECs & cigarettes will reduce consumptions among adult EC users 􀂃 Cross-price elasticities between ECs & CIGs for vapors were largely nonsignificant 4 BACKGROUND & MOTIVATION 5 􀂃 Growing popularity of e-cigarettes (ECs) → state & local EC excise taxes in the US 􀂃 Increasing EC taxes reduces EC sales and use among both youth and adult populations. (Abouk et al (2023), Cotti et al (2022), Pesko et al (2020 , 2022), Friedman et at (2022)) 􀂃 Increasing EC taxes may increase smoking and cigarette sales, leading to unintended consequences. (i.e. , ECs and cigarettes are likely economic substitutes) 􀂃 The current debate over EC taxes has also been focused on balancing the intended and unintended consequences of taxing ECs. 6 􀂃 Almost all conclusions are based on sales or repeated cross-sectional data. Therefore, those studies did not control for tobacco users’ unobserved heterogeneity (e.g. , beliefs in EC risks etc. ) using individual fixed effects. 􀂃 Treat ECs as a homogeneous group while their characteristics and tax burdens significantly vary (Shang et al (2023)) . E.g. , most studies used past-30-day use as the sole outcome. 􀂃 The economic relationships (i.e. , whether they are substitutes or not) among different types of ECs and between various EC types and cigarettes are unknown, despite their differential appeals and potentials to replace cigarettes. Disposable Tank systems E-liquids Pod starter kit Pod device Cigarettes w/ e-liquids w/ pods 7 􀂃 Dual use of e-cigarettes and cigarettes are not well addressed in existing data 􀂃 Survey data often measure whether to use cigarettes or ECs instead of measuring quantities The allocations between ECs and cigarettes among dual users are unknown. 􀂃 Unlike cigarettes, ECs are platform goods (device + refills) in marketing and economics research, similar to Keurig coffee machine + pods The purchasing patterns of ECs could be very different from cigarettes due to the nature of platform goods and need to be further investigated 8 This study conducts a volumetric choice experiment (VCE) to fill in evidence gaps, which has the following advantages 􀂃 Use within variation that addresses confounding issues (controlling f

FAQs

本研究采用什么方法来研究EC与香烟的价格选择关系？

研究采用体积选择实验（VCE, volumetric choice experiment）对美国成年EC用户的选择行为进行测量，用于估计自价格与交叉价格弹性。

研究重点考察哪些弹性与替代关系？

重点考察六种不同EC类型之间，以及EC类型与传统香烟（cigarettes）之间的自价格与交叉价格弹性，从而评估替代关系。

与既有研究相比，本研究的优势是什么？

研究使用VCE以在价格影响评估中控制个体固定效应，从而更好处理混杂与不可观测异质性；同时在建模双重使用与平台型商品（设备+补充品）方面更具灵活性。

Sep 20, 2026

Uploaded by Fahsai