BACKGROUND
Open system E-cigarette (EC) product features, such as battery capacity, maximum output wattage, etc., are major components that drive product costs and may influence use patterns. Moreover, continued innovation and monitoring of product features and prices will provide critical information for designing appropriate taxation policies and product regulations.
OBJECTIVE
From April to August 2022, we conducted a study on open-system EC device products from five popular US-based online vape shops to examine how product features are associated with the prices of devices.
METHODS
We examined starter kits, device-only products, and e-liquid container-only products. We implemented a linear regression model with store fixed effect to examine the association between device attributes and prices.
RESULTS
The price of EC devices, irrespective of device type or whether they come as starter kits or device-only products, increased as the battery capacity and output wattage increased. For mod kits and vape pens, the price was positively associated with the volume size of the e-liquid container. On the other hand, the price of pod kits was positively associated with the number of containers.
CONCLUSIONS
Given that higher volume size of the e-liquid container, battery capacity, and device wattage are associated with higher prices of EC devices, ad valorem taxes will increase the relative prices of devices with higher volumes as compared to lower volumes; and increase the relative prices of EC devices with greater battery capacity and output wattages as compared to lower capacity and lower wattage devices. Policymakers could manipulate tax rates by device type to discourage the usage of certain device products.
CLINICALTRIAL
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