Jeffrey Miron
Despite reports that they are less harmful than regular cigarettes, legislators have targeted e‑cigarettes and vapes via crackdowns and online sales bans, citing a desire to protect young people.
A new study examines the effect of online sales bans on use of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). The study
used data from five national surveys conducted between 2013 and 2023 and leveraged the staggered adoption of the bans across states … [to] reveal no evidence that prohibiting online sales reduced youth e‑cigarette use. … Furthermore, these bans had a minimal effect on the frequency of use among continuing users.
The legislation was ineffective because
young people rarely used the internet to obtain ENDS products before the bans. … Although the bans significantly reduced online purchases of ENDS products, the overall reduction in youth use was less than 1 percentage point.
Indeed,
online purchases fell by 40–50 percent on average, suggesting that young people continued to obtain ENDS products online through illegal shipments … [and] shifted from online to in-person purchases and obtained more ENDS products from family and friends.
The bans also did not stop adults from using ENDS; the study shows
no evidence that online sales bans reduced e‑cigarette or cigarette use among adults, even though adults use these products at higher rates than young people.
Cross-posted from Substack.