The impact of flavour, device type and warning messages on youth preferences for electronic nicotine delivery systems: evidence from an online discrete choice experiment

Introduction:
This text is a summary of a research paper examining the impact of flavors, device type, and health warning messages on youth preference for electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). The study aims to provide evidence and data to inform the Food and Drug Administration's potential regulatory actions on ENDS.

Key Points:

* The study is a discrete choice experiment conducted online with 515 participants aged 14-17 years, including 50 ever-users and 465 never-users of ENDS.
* The study examines the impact of three attributes (flavor, device type, and warning message) on the probability of choosing ENDS.
* Flavors, particularly fruit/sweets/beverage flavors, significantly increase the probability of choosing ENDS among youth.
* Among never-users, menthol flavors also increase the probability of choosing ENDS compared with tobacco flavors.
* Vaping devices that are modifiable increase the probability of choosing ENDS among adolescent never-users.
* Warning messages reduce the probability of choosing ENDS among never-users.
* Restricting fruit/sweets/beverage flavors in ENDS, regulating modifiable vaping devices, and adopting strong health warning messages may reduce the uptake of ENDS among youth.

Main Message:
The main message of the study is that flavors, device type, and health warning messages have a significant impact on youth preference for ENDS. Restricting flavors, regulating modifiable vaping devices, and adopting strong health warning messages may help reduce the uptake of ENDS among youth. The study provides evidence and data that can inform the FDA's potential regulatory actions on ENDS.

Shang, Ce, Jidong Huang, Frank J Chaloupka, and Sherry L Emery. “The Impact of Flavour, Device Type and Warning Messages on Youth Preferences for Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems: Evidence from an Online Discrete Choice Experiment.” Tobacco Control 27, no. e2 (October 2018): e152–59. https://doi.org/10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2017-053754.