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Completed

NCT Number: NCT05439421

Consumer Perceptions of Waterpipe Tobacco Packaging and Digital Marketing Claims

The purpose of the study is to evaluate the impact of marketing claims commonly found on waterpipe, also known as hookah, tobacco packages and in digital marketing on young adults' willingness to try hookah tobacco. Participants will complete two tasks, in random order. Participants will view six sample waterpipe tobacco packages, randomized at the package level to contain a prohibited or potentially-prohibited claim or not (Packaging Task). In the other task, they will view 10 digital marketing advertisements (i.e. Instagram posts or website pages) either with or without prohibited or potentially-prohibited claim, randomized at the advertisements level (Digital Marketing Task).

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Key information

Conditions

Waterpipe Tobacco Smoking

Age range

18 year–29 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Wake Forest University Health Sciences

Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 27157, United States

About this study

Background/Objectives The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has begun to prohibit certain claims on Waterpipe Tobacco (WT) packaging and advertising. Under Section 911 of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, manufacturers and retailers are prohibited from making unauthorized modified risk tobacco product (MRTP) claims, including statements that the product or its smoke: (1) results in reduced harm; (2) contains a reduced level of a substance or presents a reduced exposure to a substance; (3) does not contain or is free of a substance; and (4) statements that use modified risk descriptors such as light, mild, low, or similar descriptors. Some prohibited claims are easily identifiable, but others are more difficult to identify due to lack of specificity in the law and the implicit nature of some claims. Evidence is needed specific to WT packaging and marketing to determine which claims may be associated with consumer harm misperceptions to inform future regulatory actions. The study will address this gap by assessing how such claims influence consumer perceptions and behavioral intentions.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • United States (U.S.) Resident
  • Has used waterpipe tobacco within the past year (self-report)
  • Has not used waterpipe tobacco within the past year but it susceptible to use (self- report)

Exclusion criteria

  • Younger than 18 or older than 29
  • Non U.S. Resident
  • Has not used waterpipe tobacco within in the past year and is not susceptible to use (self-report)

Treatment and study plan

Package/Advertisement With Claim

Behavioral

Waterpipe tobacco packages and digital marketing advertisement images with claim of interest as part of design

Package/Advertisement Without Claim

Behavioral

Waterpipe tobacco packages and digital marketing advertisements shown without claim of interest as part of design

Primary outcomes

  1. Willingness to Try Hookah Tobacco (Packaging Task )

    Time frame: minute 5

    One item to assess the extent to which young adults are willing to try the waterpipe tobacco product: How likely would you be to try this specific product?

    Response scale: (1) Not at all likely to (4) Very likely

  2. Willingness to Smoke Hookah Tobacco (Digital Marketing Task )

    Time frame: minute 5

    One item to assess the extent to which young adults want to try smoking hookah: How much does this advertisement make you want to smoke hookah?

    Response scale: (1) Not at all to (4) A lot

Other outcomes

  1. Absolute Harm Perception (Packaging Task )

    Time frame: minute 5

    One item to assess young adults' perceptions of how the packaging influences their opinions on the harmfulness of the hookah tobacco: How much does this packaging make you think this product is harmful?

    Response scale: (1) Not at all to (4) A lot

  2. Absolute Harm Perception (Digital Marketing Task )

    Time frame: minute 5

    One item to assess young adults' perception of how the advertisement influences their opinions on the harmfulness of smoking hookah: How much does this advertisement make you think smoking hookah is harmful?

    Response scale: (1) Not at all to (4) A lot

  3. Product Appeal (Packaging Task )

    Time frame: minute 5

    One item to assess the pictured product's appeal: How appealing is this specific product to you?

    Response scale: (1) Not at all appealing to (4) Very appealing

  4. Product Appeal (Digital Marketing Task )

    Time frame: minute 5

    One item to assess the appeal of smoking hookah in the context of the advertisement: How appealing does this advertisement make smoking hookah seem to you?

    Response scale: (1) Not at all appealing to (4) Very appealing

  5. Absolute Safety Perception (Packaging Task)

    Time frame: minute 5

    One item to assess young adults' perceptions of how the packaging influences their opinions of how safe the product is: How much does this packaging make you think this product is safe?

    Response scale: (1) Not at all to (4) A lot

  6. Absolute Safety Perception (Digital Marketing Task)

    Time frame: minute 5

    One item to assess young adults' perception of how the advertisement influences their opinions on the safety of smoking hookah: How much does this advertisement make you think smoking hookah is safe?

    Response scale: (1) Not at all to (4) A lot

  7. Relative Safety Perception (Packaging Task

    Time frame: minute 5

    One item to assess young adults' perceptions of how safe the product is as compared to other hookah tobacco that might be available to them: Compared to other hookah tobacco on the market, how safe do you think this specific product is? Response scale: (1) Much less safe to (5) Much more safe

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Wake Forest University Health Sciences

Other

Collaborators

  • National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2022
Primary completion
2022
Study completion
2022
First posted
Jun 30, 2022
Registry last updated
Mar 19, 2024

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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