Weight Status and Effects of Non-Tobacco Flavors on E-Cigarette Product Appeal

Abstract

Background

Flavors in tobacco products may be salient drivers of tobacco product use among people with overweight or obesity. Yet, whether perceived appeal of e-cigarettes with different flavors varies as a function of weight status is unknown. Purpose: To conduct secondary data analyses of a laboratory experiment to examine whether weight moderates differences in perceived appeal of fruit, menthol, and tobacco flavored e-cigarettes in young adults who vape. Methods: Using a within-subjects experimental design, young adults in Los Angeles, CA, USA. (Mage = 25.36 ± 4.42 Range: 18–35) with normal weight (n = 48) or overweight/obesity (n = 51) were administered standardized doses of e-cigarette solutions varying in flavor (fruit, menthol, tobacco). Following each administration, participants rated the appeal of the solution (range: 0–100). Results: The extent to which menthol (vs. tobacco)-flavored e-cigarettes were rated more appealing was amplified among participants with overweight or obesity versus normal weight participants (flavor × weight interaction Estimate = 7.54, p = .01 95% CI = [2.30, 12.80]). There were no differences in the effects of fruit (vs. tobacco) flavored e-cigarettes on appeal as a function of weight status. Conclusions: Menthol flavors in e-cigarettes may be disproportionately appealing to young adults with overweight and obesity.

Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2021.1899229.

Keywords:

• Obesity
• overweight
• weight status
• e-cigarettes
• menthol
• experiment
• flavors

Acknowledgments

The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of NCI, NIDA, or FDA. The funding agencies had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

Disclosure statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Data availability statement

Data is available by request from the corresponding author.

Additional information

Funding

This project was supported in part by Tobacco Centers of Regulatory Science (TCORS) award U54CA180908 from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and grant K24DA048160 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).