FRIDAY, Sept. 14, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Sales of flavored electronic cigarette products have increased dramatically since 2012, according to a study published online Aug. 23 in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Preventing Chronic Disease.
Nicole M. Kuiper, M.P.H., from the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues examined data on e-cigarette products (rechargeables, disposables, prefilled cartridges, and e-liquid refills). Data were derived from two Universal Product Code retail scanner sources: (1) convenience stores and (2) all other outlets combined, including supermarkets, drugstores, mass merchandisers, dollar stores, club stores, and U.S. Department of Defense commissaries. Data were aggregated in four-week periods for the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia from 2012 through 2016. Vape shop and internet sales data were not available.
The researchers found that flavored e-cigarette sales as a percentage of all e-cigarette sales increased nationally from 2.4 to 19.8 percent and in all but four states (North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Vermont). Specifically, flavored disposable and prefilled cartridge sales increased and menthol e-cigarette sales were stable (35 to 40 percent), while there was a decrease in the percentage of menthol disposable, prefilled cartridge, and e-liquid refill sales. In state analysis, menthol e-cigarette sales increased in Idaho and Nebraska and decreased in seven states. The percentage of flavored sales decreased in Rhode Island and increased in 29 states in 2015 to 2016.
“Continued monitoring of sales trends at all retail outlets can inform federal, state, and local efforts to address flavored tobacco product use, including e-cigarettes, in the United States,” the authors write.
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