Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) research priority areas reported by District of Columbia and US State tobacco control programmes (N=51)
| Priority area | Number of states mentioning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Policy | 31 | How to address ENDS in smoke-free, tax, retail, youth access and insurance policy; desire for FDA guidance |
| ENDS uptake | 9 | ENDS as ‘gateway’ to other tobacco products, nicotine addiction; initiation of conventional tobacco through ENDS; dual use; non-smoker uptake |
| Marketing of ENDS | 8 | Display of ENDS in stores; impact of television, radio, online, print advertising on uptake; how, where and how much ENDS marketing; cessation messaging in advertising; ‘vape shops’ opening in places with weak smoke-free laws; marketing regulation |
| Harm reduction | 6 | Rift in public health community regarding harm reduction; splits the research and practice arms of tobacco control; role of ENDS in harm reduction |
| Messaging to the public about ENDS | 6 | Tobacco control community needs to agree upon a common message before community with the public; what are best practices; effective messaging strategies; how to communicate risks of ENDS to public; “the correct public health way to message about [ENDS]” |
| Definition of ENDS products | 5 | Are ENDS tobacco products?; legal guidelines for ENDS and legislation; definitions of products covered by smoke-free laws; how to define? |
| Normalisation of smoking | 4 | Impact of normalisation of ENDS smoking on youth initiation; “de-normalization of 25 years of tobacco control”; modelling behaviour for youth; smoking renormalised through ENDS |
| ENDS use to administer other drugs | 3 | Devices being used for recreational use of marijuana; reports of ENDS used to administer heroin and pot; cannabinoids, other narcotics in e-cigarettes |
| ENDS industry activity | 1 | Influence of industry on ENDS definition for policy purposes |
| Collaboration between states and researchers | 1 | “[we are] eager to collaborate, well-funded, and have data collection opportunities to…work with researchers” |
ENDS, electronic nicotine delivery system; FDA, Food and Drug Administration.