E-commerce licensing loopholes: a case study of online shopping for tobacco products following a statewide sales restriction on flavoured tobacco in California.
E-commerce licensing loopholes: a case study of online shopping for tobacco products following a statewide sales restriction on flavoured tobacco in California.
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电子商务许可漏洞：加利福尼亚州全州范围内调味烟草销售限制后在线购买烟草产品的案例研究。
DOI：
10.1136/tc-2023-058269
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发表时间：
2023
期刊：
影响因子：
5.2
通讯作者：
Poliak,Adam
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Leas,EricC;Mejorado,Tomas;Harati,Raquel;Ellis,Shannon;Satybaldiyeva,Nora;Morales,Nicolas;Poliak,Adam
零售商许可计划可以是执行烟草控制法律的有效方法，但大多数计划并不要求电子商务零售商获得许可证。加州实施全州范围的口味限制（参议院法案793（SB-793））于2022年12月通过其烟草零售商许可计划实施，提供了一个机会来评估在“烟草零售商”的定义中排除电子商务是否可能导致消费者行为转向电子商务。793实施和烟草在线购物，我们收集了2018年1月至2023年5月期间加州与在线购买香烟和电子烟产品相关的每周谷歌搜索率。我们将SB-793实施后观察到的购物查询率与根据自回归迭代移动平均模型拟合历史趋势计算的反事实预期率和预测区间（PI）进行了比较。对搜索结果进行内容分析，以确定网站营销调味vaping产品和薄荷醇cigarettes.ResultsThe周SB-793实施，购物查询分别为194.4%（95%PI 100.8%至451.5%）和161.7%（95%PI 81.7%至367.5%）高于预期的香烟和vapes，分别。香烟购物查询持续11周显着升高，vape购物查询持续6周。所有搜索结果都包含向加州消费者提供调味vaping产品或薄荷醇香烟的网站链接。DiscussionThese调查结果引发了人们对政策执行中潜在漏洞的担忧，这些漏洞是由于零售商许可计划中缺乏对电子商务销售的明确规定而造成的。建议加强监管，将电子商务包括在内，并监测电子商务的遵守情况，以加强通过零售商许可证方案执行的法律的影响。
IntroductionRetailer licensing programmes can be an effective method of enforcing tobacco control laws, but most programmes do not require e-commerce retailers to obtain licenses. California’s implementation of a statewide flavour restriction (Senate Bill 793 (SB-793)) in December 2022 enforced through its tobacco retailer licensing programme presented an opportunity to assess whether the exclusion of e-commerce in the definition of ‘tobacco retailer’ might have resulted in a shift in consumer behaviour towards e-commerce.MethodsTo examine the association between SB-793 implementation and online shopping for tobacco, we collected weekly Google search rates related to online shopping for cigarettes and vaping products in California from January 2018 to May 2023. We compared observed rates of shopping queries after SB-793 implementation to counterfactual expected rates and prediction intervals (PI) calculated from autoregressive iterative moving average models fit to historical trends. Content analysis was performed on the search results to identify websites marketing flavoured vaping products and menthol cigarettes.ResultsThe week SB-793 was implemented, shopping queries were 194.4% (95% PI 100.8% to 451.5%) and 161.7% (95% PI 81.7% to 367.5%) higher than expected for cigarettes and vapes, respectively. Cigarette shopping queries remained elevated significantly for 11 weeks and vape shopping queries for 6 weeks. All search results contained links to websites that offered flavoured vaping products or menthol cigarettes to Californian consumers.DiscussionThese findings raise concerns about potential loopholes in policy enforcement created by the absence of explicit regulations on e-commerce sales in retailer licensing programmes. Strengthening regulations to include e-commerce and monitoring e-commerce compliance are recommended to enhance the impact of laws enforced through retailer licensing programmes.