Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Formative Research
Date Submitted: May 23, 2023
Open Peer Review Period: May 23, 2023 - Jul 18, 2023
Date Accepted: Mar 1, 2024
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
The Relationship between Product Features and the Prices of E-cigarette Devices Sold in Online Vape Shops: An Association Study
ABSTRACT
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. Clinical Trial: N/A
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