Where Do Vapers Buy Their Vaping Supplies? Findings from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) 4 Country Smoking and Vaping Survey

Abstract

Aim: This study examines where vapers purchase their vaping refills in countries having different regulations over such devices, Canada (CA), the United States (US), England (EN), and Australia (AU). Methods: Data were available from 1899 current adult daily and weekly vapers who participated in the 2016 (Wave 1) International Tobacco Control Four Country Smoking and Vaping. The outcome was purchase location of vaping supplies (online, vape shop, other). Adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were reported for between country comparisons. Results: Overall, 41.4% of current vapers bought their vaping products from vape shops, 27.5% bought them online, and 31.1% from other retail locations. The vast majority of vapers (91.1%) reported using nicotine-containing e-liquids. In AU, vapers were more likely to buy online vs other locations compared to CA (OR = 6.4, 2.3–17.9), the US (OR = 4.1, 1.54–10.7), and EN (OR = 7.9, 2.9–21.8). In the US, they were more likely to buy from vape shops (OR = 3.3, 1.8–6.2) or online (OR = 1.9, 1.0–3.8) vs other retail locations when compared to those in EN. In CA, vapers were more likely to purchase at vape shops than at other retail locations when compared to vapers in EN (5.9, 3.2–10.9) and the US (1.87, 1.0–3.1). Conclusions: The regulatory environment and enforcement of such regulations appear to influence the location where vapers buy their vaping products. In AU, banning the retail sale of nicotine vaping products has led vapers to rely mainly on online purchasing sources, whereas the lack of enforcement of the same regulation in CA has allowed specialty vape shops to flourish.

The Effects of E-Cigarette Taxes on E-Cigarette Prices and Tobacco Product Sales: Evidence from Retail Panel Data

“…A limitation of our study is the reliance on e-cigarettes sold through retail stores, thus we cannot capture e-cigarettes sold through specialty vape shops and online. One study estimates that in 2015, 40% of e-cigarette sales occurred in retail stores similar to those we study in the NRSD (Levy et al 2019), and another study finds that in 2016 30% of U.S. adult vaporers purchased e-cigarettes in retail stores (Braak et al 2019). However, e-cigarette taxes are collected for both online and vape shop purchases in the same way they are collected in retail stores, so we are unaware of any reason why individuals would have a financial incentive to change the type of store where they shop in response to an e-cigarette tax.…”

Impact of e-cigarette and cigarette prices on youth and young adult e-cigarette and cigarette behaviour: evidence from a national longitudinal cohort

“…Patterns are similar among young adults. A national survey found that only 24% of vapers aged 18–24 bought their e-cigarettes at retail, the lowest among all adult age groups, while 48% purchased at a vape shop 19. The e-cigarette price measure used in our study was constructed using retail store sales data, which may not accurately capture the costs of e-cigarettes used by young people and the wide range of products sold in vape shops.…”

Characteristics of nicotine vaping products used by participants in the 2016 ITC Four Country Smoking and Vaping Survey

“…In Canada (CA), where vape shops are the most commonly reported source of NVPs, ecigarettes containing nicotine have been technically illegal, although enforcement has been weak, and new regulations that will permit the legal retail sale of NVPs are under consideration. The legal restrictions on the sale of NVPs in CA have had the effect of keeping NVP devices (typically closed systems) manufactured by cigarette manufacturers out of retail shops, while NVP devices manufactured by non-cigarette companies (typically open systems) dominate the market [12]. Government regulators are increasingly being asked to develop standards that address the safety, labelling and nicotine delivery of NVPs [13][14][15][16][17].…”