Experimental assessments of demand allow the examination of economic phenomena relevant to the etiology, maintenance, and treatment of addiction and other pathologies (e.g., obesity). Although such assessments have historically been resource-intensive, development and use of purchase tasks—in which participants purchase one or more hypothetical or real commodities across a range of prices—have made data collection more practical and increased the rate of scientific discovery. However, extraneous sources of variability occasionally produce nonsystematic demand data, in which price exerts either no, or inconsistent, effects on purchasing of individual participants. Such data increase measurement error, can often not be interpreted in light of research aims, and likely obscure effects of the variable(s) under investigation. Using data from 494 participants, we introduce and evaluate an algorithm (derived from prior methods) for identifying nonsystematic demand data, wherein individual participants’ demand functions are judged against two general, empirically based assumptions: (1) global, price-dependent reduction in consumption, and (2) consistency in purchasing across prices. We also introduce guidelines for handling nonsystematic data, noting some conditions in which excluding such data from primary analyses may be appropriate and others in which doing so may bias conclusions. Adoption of the methods presented here may serve to unify the research literature and facilitate discovery.

We propose that executive dysfunction is an important component relating the socioeconomic status gradient of select health behaviors. We review and find evidence supporting an SES gradient associated with (1) negative health behaviors (e.g., obesity, excessive use of alcohol, tobacco and other substances), and (2) executive dysfunction. Moreover, the evidence supports that stress and insufficient cognitive resources contribute to executive dysfunction and that executive dysfunction is evident among individuals who smoke cigarettes, are obese, abuse alcohol, and use illicit drugs. Collectively these data supports the dual system model of cognitive control, referred to here as the Competing Neurobehavioral Decision Systems hypothesis. The implications of these relationships for intervention and social justice considerations are discussed.

Introduction: Behavioral economic studies of nicotine product consumption have traditionally examined substitution between two products and rarely examined substitution with more products. Increasing numbers of tobacco products available for commercial sale leads to more possible cross-product interactions, indicating a need to examine substitution in more complex arrangements that closely mirror the tobacco marketplace. Methods: The experimental tobacco marketplace (ETM) is an experimental online store that displays pictures, information, and prices for several tobacco products. Smokers were endowed with an account balance based on their weekly tobacco purchases. Participants then made potentially real purchases for seven (Experiment 1) or six (Experiment 2) tobacco/nicotine products under four price conditions for conventional cigarettes while prices for other products remained constant. Smokers returned 1 week later to report tobacco/nicotine use and return unused products for a refund. Results: In Experiment 1 (n = 22), cigarette purchasing decreased as a function of price. Substitution was greatest for electronic cigarettes and cigarillos and significant for electronic cigarettes. Experiment 2 (n = 34) was a replication of Experiment 1, but with cigarillos unavailable in the ETM. In Experiment 2, cigarette purchases decreased as a function of price. Substitution was robust and significant for electronic cigarettes and Camel Snus. Conclusions: The ETM is a novel, practical assay that mimics the real-world marketplace, and functions as a simple research tool for both researchers and participants. Across the two experiments the product mix in the ETM altered which products functioned as substitutes suggesting complex interactions between purchasing and product availability. Implications: This article adds a novel method of collecting purchasing data that mimics real world purchasing to the existing literature. The ETM is a practical avenue by which to study both hypothetical and potentially real purchasing.

Contemporary neuro-economic approaches hypothesize that self-control failure results from drugs annexing normal learning mechanisms that produce pathological reward processing and distort decision-making as a result from the dysregulation of two valuation systems. An emphasis on processes shared across different diseases and disorders is at odds with the contemporary approach that assumes unique disease etiologies and treatments. Studying trans-disease processes can identify mechanisms that operate in multiple disease states and ascertain if factors that influence processes in one disease state may be applicable to all disease states. In this paper we review the dual model of self-control failure, the Competing Neurobehavioral Decision Systems approach, the relationship of delay discounting to the relative control of these two systems, and evidence that the executive system can be strengthened. Future research that could result in more potent interventions for executive system improvement and potential constraints on the repair of self-control failure are discussed.

Rationale Rate dependence refers to an orderly relationship between a baseline measure of behavior and the change in that behavior following an intervention. The most frequently observed rate-dependent effect is an inverse relationship between the baseline rate of behavior and response rates following an intervention. A previous report of rate dependence in delay discounting suggests that the discounting of delayed reinforcers, and perhaps, other impulsivity measures, may change rate dependently following acute and chronic administration of potentially therapeutic medications in both preclinical and clinical studies. Objective The aim of the current paper was to review the effects of stimulants on delay discounting and other impulsivity tasks. Methods All studies identified from the literature were required to include: 1) an objective measure of impulsivity, 2) administration of amphetamine, methylphenidate, or modafinil, 3) presentation of a pre- and post- drug administration impulsivity measure, and 4) the report of individual drug effects or results in groups split by baseline or vehicle impulsivity. Twenty-five research reports were then re-analyzed for evidence consistent with rate dependence. Results Of the total possible instances, 67% produced results consistent with rate dependence. Specifically, 72%, 45%, and 80% of the data sets were consistent with rate dependence following amphetamine, methylphenidate, and modafinil administration, respectively. Conclusions These results suggest rate dependence is a more robust phenomenon than reported in the literature. Impulsivity studies should consider this quantitative signature as a process to determine the effects of variables and as a potential prognostic tool to evaluate the effectiveness future interventions.

BACKGROUND:Researchers in several studies have examined correlations between tobacco harm perceptions and tobacco use in youth, but none have prospectively addressed the association between harm perceptions and subsequent new use across multiple noncigarette products.METHODS: Product-specific absolute and relative harm perceptions for cigarettes, electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), cigars, pipes, hookah, and smokeless tobacco were collected at wave 1 (W1) (2013-2014) among youth in the nationally representative US Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study (12-17 years of age; n = 10 081). At wave 2 (W2) (2014)(2015), product-specific new use was calculated. Adjusted relative risks were used to estimate if harm perceptions at W1 predicted W2 new tobacco use. RESULTS:The proportion of youth who endorsed "a lot of harm" was highest for cigarettes (84.8%) and lowest for e-cigarettes (26.6%); the proportion of youth who thought products were "more harmful" than cigarettes was highest for cigars (30.6%) and lowest for e-cigarettes (5.1%). Among youth who had not used those products at W1, product-specific new use at W2 ranged from 9.1% (e-cigarettes) to 0.6% (pipes). Youth who believed that noncombustible tobacco products posed "no or little harm" at W1 were more likely to have tried those products at W2 (P < .05). Youth who viewed e-cigarettes, hookah, and smokeless tobacco as "less harmful" than cigarettes at W1 were more likely to try those tobacco products at W2 (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS:Low harm perceptions of noncigarette tobacco products predict new use of these products by youth within the next year. Targeting product-specific harm perceptions may prevent new tobacco use among youth.

Objectives To examine urban/rural differences in U.S. prevalences of traditional and emerging tobacco product use, as well as dual/poly use of these products. Methods Using restricted-use data from Wave 1 (2013–2014) of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study, analyses estimated weighted prevalences for adult tobacco use across urban/rural geography and also examined prevalences classified by gender, poverty level, and region of the country. Results Nationally, cigarette and smokeless tobacco use, as well as dual/poly use of traditional tobacco products were more prevalent in rural, compared to urban, areas. Conversely, cigarillo and hookah use, as well as dual/poly use of emerging tobacco products were higher in urban areas. There was no significant urban/rural difference for e-cigarettes. Gender, poverty, and region of the country did not seem to be driving most urban/rural differences, although differences for cigarillos and dual/poly use of emerging tobacco products became non-significant after controlling for covariates. Conclusions Findings highlight important urban/rural differences in tobacco use. Whether the changing landscape of tobacco products will contribute to a continuation of rural health disparities remains to be seen.

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