Juul releases new study linking market entry to decreased cigarette sales
As part of Juul Labs' AcademyHealth 2020 Annual Research Meetingthe company released a report linking Juul’s market entry to decreased cigarette sales in Canada. The conference, which took place virtually, focusesd on the intersection of health, health care, and policy.
The study, conducted and presented by Dr. Shivaani Prakash, Juul Labs' director of health economics and policy research, found that the Juul System's market entry in Canada “likely decreased combustible cigarette sales, especially in urban markets.”
Using city-level data on cigarette and Juul sales in Canada and variation in timing of Juul’s market entry in the study, the company says researchers ran econometric difference-in-difference models. In a release, Juul concluded: “Within the first 12 months of market entry, market entry and availability of the Juul System likely led to a 1.5% decrease on average in store-level cigarette sales volume, within one large retailer chain. Overall, this could translate to over 400 million fewer cigarettes sold in Canada within the first year of the Juul System's market entry.”
In addition, the study found that the decline in cigarette sales magnified Juul’s market share increased in stores, suggesting that local tobacco market competition plays a strong role in uptake and purchase of vaping products. For every 1% increase in Juul’s market share at the store-level, there was an associated 0.5% reduction in cigarette sales.
"This work provides strong evidence that the availability of vaping products could reduce cigarette sales, and suggests that providing alternative nicotine products to adult smokers could drive down combustible cigarette consumption," s Rasmus Wissmann, VP of dta at Juul Labs, said in a statement. "Further research is needed to determine the long-term impact of vapor products on cigarette sales, and the net population health impact of such products."
The company says that “Identifying the impact of vaping products in global markets can help policymakers understand the role of alternative nicotine products in the commercial tobacco product market, and better evaluate the impact of such products.”
As part of the Premarket Tobacco Product Application (PMTA) process in the United States, Juul Labs has built a research program focused on examining the public health impact of the Juul System. This includes research on the Juul System's impact on the individual user, their ability to convert adult smokers from combustible cigarettes, and the net-population impact on public health.