Recruiting

Observational Study

Sponsor:

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Code:

NCT07161050

Conditions

Cigarette Smoking

E-cigarette Use

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 21+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Nicotine Content

Illegal cigarette price

E-cigarette price

Study Details

Brief summary:

This study will investigate the effects of a very-low-nicotine cigarette (VLNC) standard, e-cigarette price, and illegal cigarette price on illegal product purchasing and alternative product use in a virtual marketplace.

Conditions

Cigarette Smoking

E-cigarette Use

Study ID

NCT07161050

Start date

Dec 1, 2025

Status verified date

Jan, 2026

Completion date

Oct 7, 2026

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Oct 1, 2026

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 21+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Provide informed consent Be at least 21 years of age or older Provide a breath sample for measuring carbon monoxide (CO ≥ 8 ppm) Stable tobacco use patterns for at least two months

Exclusion Criteria:

For exclusive cigarette smokers:

Smoke at least 10 cigarettes daily and do not use NVPs regularly (no more than 9 times in the last month).

For dual cigarette/NVP users:

Smoke at least 10 cigarettes daily and use NVPs at least 3 times in a week (report use of closed nicotine salt system)

For both groups:

Have plans to move out of the area Have a serious or unstable physical or mental health condition Taking a tobacco cessation medication or medication that interferes with nicotine metabolism, motivation or reinforcement Report concrete, immediate plans to alter/quit using their usual nicotine products at the beginning of the study Being pregnant or lactating

Study Design

Enrollment

70 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Crossover

Primary purpose

Basic Science

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Exclusive cigarette smokers

Exclusive cigarette smokers will be recruited and will be exposed to all of the conditions described in the intervention section.

experimental: Dual cigarette/ nicotine vaping product users

Dual cigarette and nicotine vaping product users will be recruited and will be exposed to all of the conditions described in the intervention section

Interventions

Nicotine Content

In the full nicotine conditions, participants' preferred cigarettes and NVP products will be available in the LETM and preferred cigarettes will be available in the iETM. In the low nicotine conditions, a ban will permit only VLNCs in the LETM and preferred cigarettes will be available in the iETM.

Illegal cigarette price

At each level of nicotine content, we will manipulate the price of illegal cigarettes (1xMP, 1.5x MP, 2x MP). MP is market price.

E-cigarette price

At each level of nicotine content and illegal cigarette price, we will manipulate the price of e-cigarettes (1xMP, 1.5x MP, 2x MP). MP is the market price.

Primary outcome measure

  • Percent of budget allocated to each product category (eg, legal cigarettes, e-cigarettes, illegal cigarettes, etc) in the marketplace [ Time Frame: 1 day ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Kirstin Gatchalian

540-526-2071kmgatch@vtc.vt.edu

Madeleine Mason, PhD

540-526-2114mgmason@vtc.vt.edu

Locations

Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion

Recruiting

Roanoke, Virginia, United States, 24016

Contacts

Kirstin Gatchalian

540-526-2071kmgatch@vtc.vt.edu

Principal Investigator:

Roberta Freitas-Lemos, PhD

More Information

Sponsor

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Last update posted

Jan 16, 2026

Last verified

Jan, 2026

Keywords

  • Experimental Tobacco Marketplace
  • Illegal cigarette

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University on 2026-01-16.