How new tobacco taxes could change what people buy
Experimental Tobacco Marketplace: Forecasting the Impact of Novel Tax Proposals
This project looks at how different kinds of tobacco tax plans might change what cigarettes and other tobacco products people buy, with attention to income and education differences.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Virginia Polytechnic Inst and St Univ NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Blacksburg, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11131127 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
You would shop in an Experimental Tobacco Marketplace, a simulated buying environment where products, prices, and rules are set to mimic real life. The team will model four tax approaches—equal taxes across products, taxes based on nicotine level, taxes tied to potential harm, and taxes tied to FDA modified-risk labels—to see how those rules change purchases. They will compare choices across people with different incomes and education to see who switches products or uses more than one product. Sessions are conducted under controlled lab conditions and may include online components to forecast real-world effects before a policy is enacted.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Adults who currently smoke or use other tobacco products and are willing to take part in simulated purchasing sessions are the ideal participants.
Not a fit: People who do not use tobacco products (including most never-users and minors) are unlikely to receive direct benefit from participating.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help shape tax policies that discourage harmful tobacco use and improve population health.
How similar studies have performed: Experimental Tobacco Marketplace approaches have been used before and shown they can predict how price and availability affect tobacco purchasing, though applying them to novel tax formulas is newer.
Where this research is happening
Blacksburg, United States
- Virginia Polytechnic Inst and St Univ — Blacksburg, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Stein, Jeffrey Scott — Virginia Polytechnic Inst and St Univ
- Study coordinator: Stein, Jeffrey Scott
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.