# Natural History of Cigarette Smoking and Vaporized Nicotine Product Use in Countries with Different Policy Environments

> **NIH NIH P01** · MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA · 2020 · $364,825

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT 
This application builds upon the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Policy Evaluation Project's ongoing 
longitudinal panels of cigarette smokers and recent ex-smokers and extends to regular users of vaporized 
nicotine products (VNPs) (e.g., products like e-cigarettes). This Project assesses trajectories of the use of 
VNPs and their interactions with tobacco products, and, in collaboration with Project 3, which assesses non- 
smoking youth, to evaluate how VNPs and smoked tobacco product regulatory policies differentially influence 
tobacco and nicotine use behaviors in three countries – the United States (US), England (EN), and Canada 
(CA). These three countries were selected for study because they have similar smoking rates and share 
similar histories of cigarette product regulations but have divergent policies regulating VNPs. This study will 
involve 10,967 adults aged 18 and older who will answer a 40-minute web survey at three points in time, 18 
months apart. The survey, patterned after the ITC tobacco surveys, will include measures of smoking behavior, 
VNP awareness, trial use, regular use, reasons for VNP use, psychosocial mediators and moderators of 
continued use versus quitting for cigarettes and VNPs, and policy-relevant measures pertaining to smoking 
and VNP use, specifically: 1) product related regulations such as licensing, nicotine content, packing 
requirements, flavor restrictions, and manufacturing standards; 2) price and taxation; 3) place related 
restrictions such as smoke-free/vapor-free laws; and 4) promotional controls such as limits on advertising. 
There are three aims: 
Aim 1: To describe how the patterns of VNP and cigarette use differ among smokers and recent ex-smokers 
both over time and between important sub-groups (e.g., age groups, gender, income, those planning to quit 
smoking, nicotine dependence level), in particular whether the interactions between VNP and cigarette use 
vary across the three countries. 
Aim 2: To examine how differences in tobacco control and VNP policies between and within the US, EN, and 
CA are related to differences in the patterns of VNP and cigarette use. In particular, when policies on VNPs 
and/or cigarettes change in a country, this study will evaluate how these policy changes impact the use of 
VNPs and cigarettes in comparison to countries where no policy change has occurred. 
Aim 3: To contribute new information on the methods for monitoring health behaviors such as VNP use by 
comparing characteristics of the online samples recruited in this study with samples collected by conventional 
survey methods (e.g., PATH Household survey and other national surveys in EN and CA); and to explore the 
extent to which the behavior of the self-identified early adopters of VNPs (i.e., regular users who have used 
VNPs for some years) can provide useful indications of the behavior of the broader sample of adult smokers 
and hence, the mainstream population.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9902367
- **Project number:** 5P01CA200512-05
- **Recipient organization:** MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
- **Principal Investigator:** GEOFFREY T FONG
- **Activity code:** P01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $364,825
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** — → 2021-09-15

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9902367

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9902367, Natural History of Cigarette Smoking and Vaporized Nicotine Product Use in Countries with Different Policy Environments (5P01CA200512-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9902367. Licensed CC0.

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