Flavored E-cigs Still Sold to Minors, Despite Law

TOPLINE:

A California law prohibiting retailers from selling flavored tobacco products did not seem to stop minors from buying flavored e-cigarettes online, a new study found.

METHODOLOGY:

• California legislation SB 793, enacted in December 2022, prohibits retailers from selling flavored tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, to minors.
• In this study, four adult researchers posed as minors and attempted to buy products from the websites of six leading e-cigarette brands and 20 vape vendors.
• The researchers made initial attempts in April and May of 2022, before the law was enacted, and in February and March of 2023, after the law was enacted.
• A completed purchase meant the researcher was able to add the flavored e-cigarette product to their cart, pass the age verification system, and provide credit card information.
• Researchers compared their rate of completed purchases both before and after the law was enacted.

TAKEAWAY:

• The completed purchase rate for any of the flavored tobacco product types before SB 793 was 52.2% (12 of 23 attempts). After the law was enacted, the rate was 60.9% (14 of 23 attempts) (P = .16).
• SB 793 did not seem to deter online retailers from selling flavored tobacco products, according to the authors.

IN PRACTICE:

“Vendors may be flouting the new law, may be ignorant of the new law, or may not believe that the new law applies to online sales,” the study authors wrote.

SOURCE:

The research was funded by Tobacco Industry Monitoring Evaluation from the California Tobacco Prevention Branch and Center for Healthy Communities of the California Department of Public Health. The study appeared in JAMA Open Network.

LIMITATIONS:

The findings may not be generalizable to the broader population of online e-cigarette sellers in California due to the small sample size studied. The study’s protocol was developed during the COVID-19 pandemic, so face-to-face interactions were avoided and actual orders were not submitted. This meant researchers could not calculate an actual purchase rate and could not see whether age would be verified at delivery.

DISCLOSURES:

Study author Heather Wipfli, PhD, reports receiving grants from the California Department of Public Health during the conduct of the study. Study author Kurt Ribisl, PhD, reports receiving personal fees from attorneys general and plaintiffs’ lawyers and serving as an expert witness for litigation against e-cigarette and tobacco companies outside the submitted work. Study author Jon-Patrick Allem, PhD, reports receiving grants from the California Tobacco Control Branch and Center for Healthy Communities of the California Department of Public Health during the conduct of the study and receiving personal fees from Cooper & Kirk PLLC outside the submitted work.