When regulators choose to restrict flavours of e-juices and types of vejp products, the aim is often said to be to reduce nicotine use. But a new US research study shows that fewer choices can have other effects. Among people who both smoke and use vejps, cigarette smoking increased when the vejp supply shrank.
The study, published in the journal ”Addictive Behaviors”.”, was conducted by a US research team. The authors include Dana Rubenstein and Lauren R. Pacek, affiliated with Duke University School of Medicine and Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in the United States. The researchers work on issues related to nicotine use, tobacco dependence and public health, with the majority of the team working in psychiatry, behavioural sciences and medicine.
The study involved adults who are so-called ”dual users”, i.e. they usually use both vejp and cigarettes. The researchers allowed participants to choose products in different scenarios where the range of flavours and types of vejp units varied. The aim was to see how changes in the product range affected user choice.
Fewer choices led to more cigarettes
The results showed that when participants were faced with a more limited choice - fewer flavours and fewer types of 1TP8 units - they were more likely to choose the regular cigarettes instead.
”Policy makers and public health authorities should be aware that restrictions on e-cigarette features, such as machine type and flavour, may increase cigarette consumption among people who use both products, especially among those who find the restricted e-cigarettes less appealing than the product they use.” write the study authors.
New type of study
The study is what is known as experimental, as the researchers actively created and controlled the situation in which the participants found themselves, rather than observing what happens in the real world. It is based on choices in controlled scenarios, and provides a clear picture of how supply influenced participants' choices. At the same time, the researchers point out that this does not necessarily tell us exactly how all users behave in the real world.
In line with previous research
The results are in line with previous analyses of how taste bans and other restrictions work in practice. Several studies published in the medical journal JAMA Network Open has shown that flavour bans in various US states led to a decrease in the use of vejp - but without a corresponding decrease in cigarette smoking. Instead, in some groups, particularly among adults who had previously used both cigarettes and e-cigarettes, researchers have seen evidence that smoking has remained or increased after vejp supply was restricted.
Other research also points to flavours and product variety as an important part of making e-cigarettes a viable option for smokers who want to quit. Another study published in the PubMed Central database found that access to different flavours, nicotine strengths and product types may increase the likelihood of smokers switching to vejp completely, rather than continuing to smoke in parallel.
