Believability of Messaging Concerning a Hypothetical Product Standard to Lower a Constituent in Cigarettes or Smokeless Tobacco Among U.S. Adults Who Use Tobacco

Overview

Journal Prev Med Rep

Date 2024 Jan 3

PMID 38169982

Authors

Samantha J Venrick

Katherine A Margolis

Jennifer K Bernat

Elisabeth Donaldson

Jessica K Pepper

Matthew E Eggers

James M Nonnemaker

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has regulatory authority to implement tobacco product standards to reduce harmful and potentially harmful constituents (HPHCs). This study examines people who use tobacco products' awareness of FDA's tobacco regulatory authority, knowledge of HPHCs, and belief in hypothetical tobacco product standard statements. We recruited adults who reported currently using tobacco (N = 1,592) from the National Panel of Tobacco Consumer Studies and randomized them to one of four conditions. Participants viewed a stimulus which consisted of a statement about a hypothetical product standard that would reduce the level of a chemical in cigarettes or smokeless tobacco (ST) and reduce cases of cancer or heart attack and stroke. A small majority of participants correctly believed that FDA regulates tobacco; however, the percentage of participants who recognized HPHCs varied widely depending upon the chemical. People who currently use ST found chemical and health statements more believable than people who did not currently use ST. Participants found it more believable that cigarettes, not ST, could be made with fewer harm-causing chemicals, and their belief in the chemical and health statements did not differ based on the health outcome specified in the hypothetical product standard statement.

References

Siahpush M, McNeill A, Hammond D, Fong G . Socioeconomic and country variations in knowledge of health risks of tobacco smoking and toxic constituents of smoke: results from the 2002 International Tobacco Control (ITC) Four Country Survey. Tob Control. 2006; 15 Suppl 3:iii65-70. PMC: 2593062. DOI: 10.1136/tc.2005.013276. View

Ashley D, Backinger C, van Bemmel D, Neveleff D . Tobacco regulatory science: research to inform regulatory action at the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Tobacco Products. Nicotine Tob Res. 2014; 16(8):1045-9. DOI: 10.1093/ntr/ntu038. View

Crawford M, Balch G, Mermelstein R . Responses to tobacco control policies among youth. Tob Control. 2002; 11(1):14-9. PMC: 1747664. DOI: 10.1136/tc.11.1.14. View

OBrien E, Persoskie A, Parascandola M, Hoffman A . US Adult Interest in Less Harmful and Less Addictive Hypothetical Modified Risk Tobacco Products. Nicotine Tob Res. 2017; 20(11):1317-1326. PMC: 6154985. DOI: 10.1093/ntr/ntx227. View

Hammond D, Fong G, McNeill A, Borland R, Cummings K . Effectiveness of cigarette warning labels in informing smokers about the risks of smoking: findings from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Four Country Survey. Tob Control. 2006; 15 Suppl 3:iii19-25. PMC: 2593056. DOI: 10.1136/tc.2005.012294. View

Fix B, OConnor R, Fong G, Borland R, Cummings K, Hyland A . Smokers' reactions to FDA regulation of tobacco products: findings from the 2009 ITC United States survey. BMC Public Health. 2011; 11:941. PMC: 3260261. DOI: 10.1186/1471-2458-11-941. View

Nguyen A, Henrie J, Slavit W, Kaufman A . Beliefs about FDA tobacco regulation, modifiability of cancer risk, and tobacco product comparative harm perceptions: Findings from the HINTS-FDA 2015. Prev Med. 2018; 110:1-8. PMC: 6398991. DOI: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2018.01.011. View

Baig S, Byron M, Boynton M, Brewer N, Ribisl K . Communicating about cigarette smoke constituents: an experimental comparison of two messaging strategies. J Behav Med. 2016; 40(2):352-359. PMC: 5334183. DOI: 10.1007/s10865-016-9795-x. View

Shiffman S, Pillitteri J, Burton S, Rohay J, Gitchell J . Smokers' beliefs about "Light" and "Ultra Light" cigarettes. Tob Control. 2001; 10 Suppl 1:i17-23. PMC: 1766054. DOI: 10.1136/tc.10.suppl_1.i17. View

10.

Schmidt A, Jarman K, Ranney L, Queen T, Noar S, Ruel L . Public Knowledge and Credibility Perceptions of the FDA as a Tobacco Regulator. Nicotine Tob Res. 2017; 20(11):1310-1316. PMC: 6154977. DOI: 10.1093/ntr/ntx215. View

11.

Kaufman A, Finney Rutten L, Parascandola M, Blake K, Augustson E . Food and Drug Administration tobacco regulation and product judgments. Am J Prev Med. 2015; 48(4):445-51. PMC: 4642862. DOI: 10.1016/j.amepre.2014.10.026. View

12.

Brennan E, Gibson L, Kybert-Momjian A, Liu J, Hornik R . Promising Themes for Antismoking Campaigns Targeting Youth and Young Adults. Tob Regul Sci. 2017; 3(1):29-46. PMC: 5625632. DOI: 10.18001/TRS.3.1.4. View

13.

Hall M, Ribisl K, Brewer N . Smokers' and nonsmokers' beliefs about harmful tobacco constituents: implications for FDA communication efforts. Nicotine Tob Res. 2013; 16(3):343-50. PMC: 3920339. DOI: 10.1093/ntr/ntt158. View

14.

Jarman K, Ranney L, Baker H, Vallejos Q, Goldstein A . Perceptions of the Food and Drug Administration as a Tobacco Regulator. Tob Regul Sci. 2017; 3(2):239-247. PMC: 5644506. DOI: 10.18001/TRS.3.2.12. View

15.

Morgan J, Byron M, Baig S, Stepanov I, Brewer N . How people think about the chemicals in cigarette smoke: a systematic review. J Behav Med. 2017; 40(4):553-564. PMC: 5501992. DOI: 10.1007/s10865-017-9823-5. View

16.

Peterson E, Portnoy D, Blake K, Willis G, Trundle K, Caporaso A . Item Development and Performance of Tobacco Product and Regulation Perception Items for the Health Information National Trends Survey. Nicotine Tob Res. 2018; 21(11):1565-1572. PMC: 6941702. DOI: 10.1093/ntr/nty193. View

17.

Liu S, Loomis B, Kinsey S, Nagler C, Chen P, Sukasih A . Development of a panel of U.S. adult tobacco users to inform tobacco regulatory science. Prev Med Rep. 2022; 28:101898. PMC: 9284368. DOI: 10.1016/j.pmedr.2022.101898. View

18.

Wackowski O, Rashid M, Greene K, Lewis M, OConnor R . Smokers' and Young Adult Non-Smokers' Perceptions and Perceived Impact of Snus and E-Cigarette Modified Risk Messages. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020; 17(18). PMC: 7558440. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17186807. View

19.

Kozlowski L, Goldberg M, Yost B, White E, Sweeney C, Pillitteri J . Smokers' misperceptions of light and ultra-light cigarettes may keep them smoking. Am J Prev Med. 1998; 15(1):9-16. DOI: 10.1016/s0749-3797(98)00004-x. View

20.

Brewer N, Morgan J, Baig S, Mendel J, Boynton M, Pepper J . Public understanding of cigarette smoke constituents: three US surveys. Tob Control. 2016; 26(5):592-599. PMC: 5495614. DOI: 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2015-052897. View