The impact of e-cigarette shop displays on children
| ISRCTN | ISRCTN18215632 |
|---|---|
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN18215632 |
| Secondary identifying numbers | 102302 |
- Submission date
- 03/12/2020
- Registration date
- 22/12/2020
- Last edited
- 22/08/2022
- Recruitment status
- No longer recruiting
- Overall study status
- Completed
- Condition category
- Other
Plain English summary of protocol
Background and study aims
Shop displays of tobacco (such as cigarettes) are linked to increased smoking, as well as the likelihood of smoking in the future, among children. Many countries have banned shops from displaying tobacco openly to the public. Tobacco has to be stored in units behind a screen instead. There has not been a similar ban on displaying e-cigarettes openly in shops. E-cigarettes are often placed next to the tobacco storage units. This study aims to understand whether seeing these open displays of e-cigarettes might be linked to a higher likelihood of smoking in the future among children.
Who can participate?
Children aged 13-17 years old will be invited to take part, via their parents.
What does the study involve?
Participants in the online study will be asked to look at 12 pictures from inside shops. They will be shown 1 of 4 possible sets of pictures, at random, which included either:
1. 9 pictures of e-cigarettes that are easy to see (lots of options with colourful packaging) and 3 other pictures (for example, of stationery)
2. 9 pictures of e-cigarettes that are not easy to see (only a few options) and 3 other pictures
3. 3 pictures of e-cigarettes that are easy to see and 9 other pictures
4. 3 pictures of e-cigarettes that are not easy to see and 9 other pictures
They will then be asked some questions about their interest in different products, including snack foods, energy and sugary drinks, cigarettes and e-cigarettes. The task should take 10 minutes. The images are from a range of supermarkets and corner shops in England and seeing these pictures is not expected to have any risks as children are likely to visit these places as part of their everyday lives.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
None
Where is the study run from?
University of Bristol (UK)
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
January 2020 to January 2021
Who is funding the study?
Collaborative Award in Science from the Wellcome Trust (Behaviour Change by Design: 206853/Z/17/Z) (UK)
Who is the main contact?
Dr Anna Blackwell
akmb22@bath.ac.uk
Contact information
Scientific
12a Priory Road
Bristol
BS8 1TU
United Kingdom
 ORCID ID |
0000-0002-4984-1818 |
|---|---|
| Phone | +44 (0)117 928 8011 |
| akmb22@bath.ac.uk |
Public
12a Priory Road
Bristol
BS8 1TU
United Kingdom
| ORCID ID |
0000-0002-4984-1818 |
|---|---|
| Phone | +44 (0)117 928 8011 |
| akmb22@bath.ac.uk |
Scientific
School of Psychological Science
12a Priory Road
Bristol
BS8 1TU
United Kingdom
| ORCID ID |
0000-0002-4049-993X |
|---|---|
| Phone | +44 (0)117 954 6841 |
| marcus.munafo@bristol.ac.uk |
Study information
| Study design | 2x2 between-subjects design randomized experimental study |
|---|---|
| Primary study design | Interventional |
| Secondary study design | Randomised controlled trial |
| Study setting(s) | Internet/virtual |
| Study type | Prevention |
| Participant information sheet | Not available in web format, please use contact details to request a participant information sheet. |
| Scientific title | The impact of e-cigarette retail displays on smoking susceptibility in children: an experimental study |
| Study objectives | Children’s susceptibility to tobacco smoking is increased by exposure to high visibility e-cigarette retail displays. |
| Ethics approval(s) | Approved 17/07/2020, School of Psychological Science Research Ethics Committee (School of Psychological Science, 12a Priory Road, Bristol BS8 1TU, UK; +44 (0)117 928 9000; nathan.street@bristol.ac.uk), ref: 260320102302 |
| Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied | Smoking susceptibility among children |
| Intervention | Participants will take part in an online experiment, which will use a 2x2 between-subjects design, with two factors: 1. E-cigarette retail display visibility (high vs low) 2. Proportion of e-cigarette images (75% vs 25%) Participants will be randomised to one of four groups (n=250 per group) as outlined below, using an algorithm within the Qualtrics online survey platform. Each group will comprise 12 images of retail displays, including either e-cigarettes or unrelated (control) products such as stationery. E-cigarette images will be based on a recent naturalistic observational study of e-cigarette displays in England. Group 1 will be shown 9 images of high visibility e-cigarette displays and 3 images of control products. Group 2 will be shown 3 images of high visibility e-cigarette displays and 9 images of control products. Group 3 will be shown 9 images of low visibility e-cigarette displays and 3 images of control products. Group 4 will be shown 3 images of low visibility e-cigarette displays and 9 images of control products. Participants will view the 12 images according to their group and then answer a series of questions, including free then cued recall of items from the images, smoking and vaping susceptibility, perceptions of smoking and vaping harm, previous smoking and vaping experience, demographics, as well as filler questions. The task will take approximately 10 minutes to complete. |
| Intervention type | Behavioural |
| Primary outcome measure | 1. Smoking susceptibility will be assessed among never smokers only measured using an established questionnaire with three questions: "Do you think that you will try a cigarette soon?"; and "If one of your best friends were to offer you a cigarette, would you smoke it?"; "Do you think you will be smoking cigarettes 1 year from now?" (the responses to each given either a grade of 0 or 1, where a total score of 0 to 3 is possible, with 0 being not susceptible and ≥1 being susceptible) measured after exposure to the retail display images |
| Secondary outcome measures | 1. Vaping susceptibility will be assessed among never vapers only measured using a questionnaire adapted from the smoking susceptibility measure with three questions: "Do you think that you will try an e-cigarette (vape) soon?"; and "If one of your best friends were to offer you an e-cigarette (vape), would you smoke it?"; "Do you think you will be using e-cigarettes (vaping) 1 year from now?" (the responses to each given either a grade of 0 or 1, where a total score of 0 to 3 is possible, with 0 being not susceptible and ≥1 being susceptible) measured after exposure to the retail display images 2. Perception of harm of tobacco smoking will be assessed using a question adapted for vaping harms: “How dangerous do you think it is to smoke one or two cigarettes occasionally?” (rated on a five-point scale, where a score of 1 is not very dangerous and score of 5 is very dangerous) measured after exposure to the retail display images |
| Overall study start date | 01/01/2020 |
| Completion date | 25/01/2021 |
Eligibility
| Participant type(s) | Healthy volunteer |
|---|---|
| Age group | Child |
| Lower age limit | 13 Years |
| Upper age limit | 17 Years |
| Sex | Both |
| Target number of participants | 1,000 |
| Total final enrolment | 1470 |
| Key inclusion criteria | 1. Aged between 13 and 17 years |
| Key exclusion criteria | Does not meet inclusion criteria |
| Date of first enrolment | 22/12/2020 |
| Date of final enrolment | 25/01/2021 |
Locations
Countries of recruitment
- England
- United Kingdom
Study participating centre
Bristol
BS8 1TU
United Kingdom
Sponsor information
University/education
12a Priory Road
Bristol
BS8 1TU
England
United Kingdom
| Phone | +44 (0)117 92 88450 |
|---|---|
| psych-school@bristol.ac.uk | |
| Website | http://bristol.ac.uk/ |
"ROR" |
https://ror.org/0524sp257 |
Funders
Funder type
Charity
Private sector organisation / Trusts, charities, foundations (both public and private)
- Alternative name(s)
- Wellcome, WT
- Location
- United Kingdom
Results and Publications
| Intention to publish date | 30/03/2022 |
|---|---|
| Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share | Yes |
| IPD sharing plan summary | Stored in publicly available repository |
| Publication and dissemination plan | Planned publication in a high-impact peer-reviewed journal, as well as via social media and project website. The study protocol and statistical analysis plan for the study will be uploaded at https://osf.io/pe34h/. |
| IPD sharing plan | Anonymous study data may be shared with collaborators for the purposes of analysis and results interpretation under appropriate collaboration agreements. At the end of the study, electronic study data (including finalised datasheet) will be transferred to a designated University of Bristol Research Data Storage Facility for long-term archiving. Study data will be kept for a minimum of 20 years. At the appropriate time, the datasheet will be locked and made open using the University of Bristol Research Data Repository and/or Open Science Framework (https://data.bris.ac.uk/data/) |
Study outputs
| Output type | Details | Date created | Date added | Peer reviewed? | Patient-facing? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dataset | 22/04/2022 | 22/08/2022 | No | No | |
| Protocol article | 18/11/2020 | 22/08/2022 | Yes | No | |
| Results article | 13/04/2022 | 22/08/2022 | Yes | No | |
| Statistical Analysis Plan | 12/02/2021 | 22/08/2022 | No | No |
Editorial Notes
22/08/2022: Publication reference, protocol, statistical analysis plan and dataset added.
11/03/2022: The study contact email has been updated and the plain English summary has been updated accordingly.
25/02/2021: The following changes were made to the trial record:
1. The recruitment end date was changed from 28/02/2021 to 25/01/2021.
2. The overall trial end date was changed from 31/03/2021 to 25/01/2021.
3. Total final enrolment number added.
4. Contact details updated.
11/12/2020: Trial’s existence confirmed by University of Bristol.
