# The Impact of Design Characteristics on the Modification Potential of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems

> **NIH NIH R01** · GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $466,497

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
 Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) can be modified by consumers in ways that are intended
by the manufacturers (for example, adjusting the voltage using the built-in dial on the product) and in ways for
which the product was not designed (such as replacing the battery with a more powerful one, directly dripping
e-juice on the coil to produce thicker clouds of aerosol, or using ENDS to consume other substances, such as
alcohol or cannabis). In evaluating whether ENDS or other new tobacco products harm or benefit the
population as a whole, FDA assesses how people in the real world use these products, including how they
modify (alter, customize, misuse, tamper with, or adjust) them. Consumer modifications can significantly impact
the appeal, addictiveness, and toxicity of tobacco products, and thus, their population harm. Furthermore,
youth and young adults might find modifications more appealing than older adults. Thus, the ability to modify
products opens up new issues in evaluating whether a product should be allowed on the market and what
types of product standards may be appropriate in order to prevent and reduce their use by youth and
encourage their use by older adults trying to quit cigarette smoking. But, little is known about how and why
consumers modify ENDS, how much modification is occurring, and what design characteristics lead to these
modification activities. Thus, the impact of product design characteristics on modification needs to be further
investigated.
 We will identify the various ways users modify ENDS (Aim 1) by interviewing ENDS enthusiasts,
examining the content of social media (YouTube and Reddit) for portrayals and discussions of ENDS
modifications, and conducting focus groups with young and older adult ENDS users and individual interviews
with youth ENDS users. This qualitative research will inform the development of the questionnaire that will be
administered to nationally representative samples of youth, young adults, and older adults in order to
determine the extent that modification of ENDS occurs in the U.S. population (Aim 2). Information gained from
both qualitative and quantitative phases of research will allow us to evaluate the role of ENDS product
characteristics that lead to modification and what motivates these activities (Aim 3). This project will provide
evidence to help guide public health policy and regulatory decision-making for new product review and product
standards.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9994971
- **Project number:** 5R01DA047397-03
- **Recipient organization:** GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** David Liddell Ashley
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $466,497
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-15 → 2023-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9994971

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9994971, The Impact of Design Characteristics on the Modification Potential of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (5R01DA047397-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9994971. Licensed CC0.

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