Tax experiment reveals how smokers might switch products
NCT ID NCT05370313
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 26, 2026
Summary
This completed study looked at how 285 daily smokers would change their tobacco purchases under four different tax plans. Participants used a simulated online marketplace to buy products as taxes increased. The goal was to see if certain taxes push smokers toward lower-risk alternatives like nicotine-free e-cigarettes.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this research could help policymakers design taxes that encourage smokers to switch to less harmful tobacco products.
- What could go wrong
- This is a behavioral study, not a clinical treatment. Results may not predict real-world purchasing, and no direct health benefit was tested.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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285 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Apr 2023
- Finished
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Jun 2025
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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21 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * provide informed consent * provide a breath carbon monoxide sample ≥ 8 ppm, * be at least 21 years of age (the legal age to purchase tobacco), * smoke at least 10 cigarettes daily, and * use other tobacco products less than weekly. Exclusion Criteria: * report uncontrolled physical or mental health conditions (e.g., uncontrolled diabetes, high blood pressure, major depressive disorder, etc.), * use of smoking cessation medications (e.g., nicotine replacement, bupropion, varenicline) in the past 30 days, * report concrete, immediate plans to alter/quit using their usual tobacco products in the next 30 days, * be pregnant or lactating, or * have plans to move out of the area during the experiment.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Fralin Biomedical Research Institute
Roanoke, Virginia, 24016, United States
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Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
Buffalo, New York, 14263, United States
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