E-cigarette Advertisements for Vaping

Overseen By Julia Chen-Sankey, PhD MPP

Age: 18 - 65

Sex: Any

Trial Phase: Academic

Sponsor: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Disqualifiers: Non-consent, others

No Placebo Group All trial participants will receive the active study treatment (no placebo)

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: 1

Duration: 20 minutes

3083 Participants Needed

Trial Summary

What is the purpose of this trial?

This randomized controlled trial aims to examine the effects of high-impact e-cigarette advertisement features among young adults of various tobacco-use statuses. Previous research on examining the effects of e-cigarette advertisement features found that flavor-related features (e.g., flavor-associated product color, name and image, flavor sensation descriptor, and flavor choice claim) may have the largest impact on shaping young adults' perceptions and use intentions of e-cigarettes. No research so far has solely focused on examining the effects of those high-impact flavor-related advertisement features. The present study assessed the effects of high-impact flavor-related advertisement features, including flavor descriptor name, e-cigarette product color (which indicates flavors), flavor-related image, flavor sensation descriptor, and flavor choice claim on perceptions and behavioral intentions among a large online sample of young adults aged 18-30 who either smoke cigarettes or do not use tobacco products. The study is a six-group RCT with parallel assignments that will be delivered through an online self-administered questionnaire consisting of one session. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of six trial arms: 1) dark gray product with tobacco flavor name, 2) dark gray product with strawberry flavor name, 3) colorful (strawberry color) product with strawberry flavor name, 4) colorful (strawberry color) product with strawberry flavor name and strawberry image, 5) colorful (strawberry color) product with strawberry flavor name, strawberry image, strawberry flavor sensation descriptor, and 6) colorful (strawberry color) product with strawberry flavor name, strawberry image, strawberry flavor sensation descriptor, and flavor choice claim. Participants will be exposed to one advertisement corresponding to the assigned condition, and answer survey questions immediately after message exposure.

Eligibility Criteria

This trial is for young adults aged 18-30, who are either smokers or non-tobacco users. The study aims to understand how certain e-cigarette ads influence their perceptions and intentions to use vaping products.

Inclusion Criteria

* Three groups of young adult subjects will be included in the study. The first group is those who are exclusive cigarette smokers (n=1000), defined as those who have smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime and have smoked at least one cigarette in the past 30 days but have not used e-cigarettes in the past 30 days. The second group is those who are dual users of cigarettes and e-cigarettes (n=1000). Those in this group have smoked more than 100 cigarettes in their lifetime and have smoked a cigarette and also used an e-cigarette in the past 30 days. The third group is those who are non-tobacco users (n=1000), defined as those who have never used any tobacco product before or have never "regularly" used tobacco products before and are currently not using any tobacco products (in the past 30 days).

Timeline

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

1 week

Online consent and pre-exposure questions

Treatment

Participants are exposed to one e-cigarette advertisement and answer survey questions immediately after message exposure

20 minutes

1 session (online)

Follow-up

Participants are monitored for immediate outcomes, including perceptions and behavioral intentions related to the e-cigarette product

Immediately after exposure

Treatment Details

Interventions

• High Impact E-cigarette Advertisement Features

Trial Overview The trial examines the impact of different e-cigarette ad features on young adults. It tests six types of ads varying in product color and flavor descriptions through an online questionnaire after viewing one ad.

Participant Groups

Group I: Dark gray product with strawberry flavor name Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

Group II: Control ad: Dark gray product with tobacco flavor name Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

Group III: Colorful (strawberry color) product with strawberry flavor name and strawberry image Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

Group IV: Colorful (strawberry color) product with strawberry flavor name Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

Group V: Colorful (strawberry color) product with strawberry flavor features and choice claim Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

Colorful (strawberry color) product with strawberry flavor name + strawberry image + strawberry flavor sensation descriptor + flavor choice claim

Group VI: Colorful (strawberry color) product with strawberry flavor features Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

Colorful (strawberry color) product with strawberry flavor name + strawberry image + strawberry flavor sensation descriptor

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Lead Sponsor

Trials

471

Recruited

81,700+

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Collaborator

Trials

14,080

Recruited

41,180,000+