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Abstract
Background Nicotine products increasingly contain synthetic nicotine made in a lab (NML), not from tobacco. ‘Tobacco-free nicotine’ is most often used to describe NML commercially, but other descriptors are emerging (eg, ‘non-tobacco,’ ‘zero-tobacco’). We examined whether terms for NML differentially impact public understanding of nicotine source or risk perceptions relative to each other and to terms for describing nicotine from tobacco (NFT) as ‘tobacco-derived.’
Methods From December 2022 to April 2023, 1000 participants aged 13 and older completed an online survey (mean age: 33.02 (SD=18.15) years, 50.5% female, 16.6% Hispanic, 67.4% White and 79.8% with current tobacco use). Participants read 11 terms describing nicotine and reported on perceived nicotine source (ie, NML, NFT) and addictiveness. Rank-ordered harm was included as a sensitivity analysis.
Results Significant differences were observed among terms (eg, ‘zero tobacco nicotine’ and ‘no tobacco nicotine’ were rated as least addictive overall). ‘NML’ and ‘NFT’ adequately conveyed nicotine source and were rated as conveying comparable, yet high addictiveness, making them the optimal terms.
Conclusions Many terms for NML and NFT are differentially related to understanding nicotine source and risk perceptions even though no existing research indicates that NML and NFT differ meaningfully from each other on characteristics like addictiveness. In the absence of prohibiting product differentiation by nicotine source, regulatory agencies should promote using the terms ‘Nicotine from Tobacco’ and ‘Nicotine Made in a Lab’ and investigate whether products using descriptors conveying reduced harm (eg, ‘zero-tobacco,’ ‘no-tobacco,’ ‘non-tobacco’) should require review as Modified Risk Tobacco Products.
- Nicotine
- Electronic nicotine delivery devices
- Packaging and Labelling
- Public policy
Data availability statement
Data are available on reasonable request. Please contact MEM (Meghan.morean@yale.edu) to request data presented in the current study.
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Data availability statement
Data are available on reasonable request. Please contact MEM (Meghan.morean@yale.edu) to request data presented in the current study.
Footnotes
Contributors MEM acquired funding for this rapid response project (funded by the Yale Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science (TCORS)) and led project conceptualisation, investigation, data curation and project administration. MEM also conducted the data analyses and drafted the original manuscript. MEM serves as the guarantor for this work; she accepts full responsibility for the finished work and the conduct of the study, had access to the data, and controlled the decision to publish. SSO'M contributed to project conceptualisation and manuscript review and editing. SK-S acquired funding for the Yale Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science (TCORS) and contributed to project conceptualisation and manuscript review and editing.
Funding Research reported in this publication was supported by grant number U54DA036151 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and FDA Center for Tobacco Products (CTP).
Disclaimer The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH or the Food and Drug Administration.
Competing interests None declared.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.
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