A discarded cigar package survey in New York City: indicators of non-compliance with local flavoured tobacco restrictions

Concept flavor e-cigarette unit sales in the U.S.: 2019-2022

Introduction

Concept flavor e-cigarettes, defined as products with vague/ambiguous flavor (tobacco flavor and non-tobacco flavor) names, may limit the intended impact and enforcement of flavored tobacco restrictions. This study assessed trends in unit sales of concept flavor e-cigarettes in the U.S. by volume, nicotine concentration levels (NCL), flavor and device type.

Methods

We analyzed NielsenIQ Retail Scanner point-of-sales data collected from 2182 Local Trade Areas in the contiguous 48 U.S. states and the District of Columbia aggregated weekly from August 10, 2019, through April 9, 2022. Concept flavors were categorized by: flavor type (tobacco, fruity, menthol, mint, and other); device type (pods/refillable cartridges, disposables, e-liquids, and other); and NCL (0 %-2.0 %, 2.1 %-4.0 %, > 4.1 %, unknown). Joinpoint regression was used to assess sales trends.

Results

Overall unit sales during the study period increased by 33.63 % from 1040.85 to 1390.88 thousand units per month (p = 0.006). Between August 2019 and September 2021, unit sales increased and peaked; between September 2021 and April 2022 sales decreased by 14.46 % (from 1626.02 to 1390.88 thousand units; p = 0.002). Sales of fruity, menthol and mint flavors concept flavor e-cigarettes increased by > 1000 %; disposable devices by 302.18 %; pods and refillable cartridges by 33.81 % overall; and products NCL > 4.0 % increased by 110.18 %. Tobacco flavor concept flavors (93.28 %), pods (94.63 %), and products with 2.1 %-4.0 % NCL (88.40 %) dominated unit share.

Conclusion

Sustaining the recent overall decline in the unit sales of concept flavor e-cigarettes and monitoring the sales of products with nicotine concentration greater than 2.0%, non-tobacco flavor, and pod products warrant prioritization in tobacco control efforts.

Dissonance in Young Adult Cigarillo Users' Categorization of Concept Flavored and Unflavored Products

This study asks young adult cigarillo users to categorize their preferred flavor in order to examine user consensus and potential methodological and regulatory implications of flavor name-based categorization systems. Young adult (21–28 years) cigarillo users (n = 426) named and categorized their favorite cigarillo flavor into one of seven categories: Fruit, Sweet and Candy, Mint, Alcohol, Menthol, Tobacco, and Other. Flavor responses were coded as characterizing (ex: Grape, Wine) or concept (ex: Jazz, Diamond) flavors. Variation within and between categories was assessed, including the presence of concept flavors and the placement of flavors in multiple categories. Of the 66 unique flavor names provided, participants placed 20 (30.1%) in more than one flavor category. Most of the Tobacco (76.9%) and Other (69.2%) flavor names appeared in multiple categories. The majority of flavor names in the Tobacco (69.2%) and Other (61.5%) categories were concept flavors. Concept flavors were placed in multiple categories (45.0%) twice as often as characterizing flavors (23.9%). This study has identified dissonance among cigarillo users’ flavor categorizations, particularly for concept flavored and unflavored products. Flavor names may obscure how and whether a product is flavored. Research on and regulation of flavored tobacco products should classify products by flavor additives rather than by name alone.