Protocol - Illicit Tobacco Products
Description
This protocol includes questions from the Pricing Policies and Control of Tobacco in Europe (PPACTE) survey instrument. These specific questions are used to identify illicit tobacco products and to measure the extent of illicit tobacco products in the market. A pack is identified as illicit if it had at least one of the following tax avoidance or evasion indicators: (1) it was bought from sources that do not include all applicable taxes in the user’s location (e.g., a lower tax jurisdiction, such as a neighboring state or a Native American reservation), as reported by smokers; (2) it had an inappropriate tax stamp (e.g., one from a location other than the user’s location); (3) it had an inappropriate (e.g., one different from the labels employed in the user’s location) health warning; or (4) its price was substantially below the known price in their market (e.g., 20% or more below the average local price).
Specific Instructions
The Pricing Policies and Control of Tobacco in Europe (PPACTE) survey was administered within 18 European countries; therefore, the Working Group recommends that the following sections be updated to include terminology that is relevant to respondents who reside within the United States.
2. Delete "SHOW CARD," and provide a list of purchase locations.
2.1: Delete "national"; Replace "[UK, Spain]" with "[U.S.]"; 2.1 would become 2.1.a., which would read "Cigarettes from legal tobacco shops/legitimate retailers in your jurisdiction"; add 2.1.b., which would read "Cigarettes from legal tobacco shops/legitimate retailers in a jurisdiction other than your own (e.g., another state or locality)"; add 2.1.c., which would read "Cigarettes purchased from tobacco shops/retailers on Native American reservations"; add 2.1.d., which would read "Cigarettes purchased on military bases or within stores on military bases."
2.3: Becomes 2.3.a.; add 2.3.b., which would read "Cigarettes bought over the phone"; add 2.3.c., which would read "Cigarette purchases by mail."
2.4: Replace "countries" with "states."
2.6: Replace "[UK, Spain]" with "[U.S.]."
3.b: Replace "[country specific]" with "[U.S., English]." Add the following four warnings found on cigarette packs: SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Smoking Causes Lung Cancer, Heart Disease, Emphysema, And May Complicate Pregnancy, SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Quitting Smoking Now Greatly Reduces Serious Risks to Your Health, SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Smoking By Pregnant Women May Result in Fetal Injury, Premature Birth, And Low Birth Weight, SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Cigarette Smoke Contains Carbon Monoxide.
3.c: Replace "[Country specific]" with "Tax stamps within your jurisdiction (e.g., local city and county stamps)." Replace "[Foreign stamp]" with "Tax stamps from jurisdictions other than your own [e.g., other city, county, and state stamps]." Add "Tax stamps from Native American reservations." Add "Foreign stamp What country?"
3.d: Replace "€ (or local currency)" with $.
3.e: Delete "National"; replace "[UK, Spain]" with "[U.S.]"; add "in your jurisdiction," "Cigarettes from legal tobacco shops/legitimate retailers in a jurisdiction other than your own (e.g., another state or locality)," "Cigarettes purchased from tobacco shops/retailers on Native American reservations," "Cigarettes purchased on military bases or within stores on military bases."
The Content Expert Panel suggests investigators consider nicotine as derived from any source, including both natural and synthetic, when administering this protocol.
The Content Expert Panel recommends investigators substitute people-first language (i.e. replace behavior-based labels such as "smoker" with "people who smoke") as outlined in Hefler, M. et al 2023, which may differ from the original protocol text.
Availability
Protocol
1. Do you currently smoke cigarettes (including hand-rolled cigarettes)?
1[ ]No
2[ ]Yes
(Ask questions 2 and 3 to current smokers only - code 2 at question 1)
2. Think about the total number of cigarettes you used/had during the last 30 days. As a percentage, how many of them did you buy from the places below or were offered by peers? SHOW CARD
(if the interviewee does not buy cigarettes, write "000" in the first six fields and "100" in the last field)
- Cigarettes from national legal tobacco shops/legitimate retailers (full price) [UK, Spain] |___|___|___| %
- Cigarettes from vending machines |___|___|___| %
- Cigarettes bought over the internet |___|___|___| %
- Cigarettes from shops in other countries |___|___|___| %
- Cigarettes from duty-free shops |___|___|___| %
- Cigarettes from an individual selling cigarettes independently at local markets, delivery service, door-to-door, or just in the street, or cheap cigarettes from legitimate retailers [UK, Spain] |___|___|___| %
- Cigarettes offered by peers |___|___|___| %
3. Please, could you show me the latest pack of cigarettes or hand-rolling tobacco that you bought?
1[ ]No
2[ ]Yes
INTERVIEWER: COLLECT ALL THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION FROM THE PACK. IF IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO SEE THE LATEST PACK BOUGHT, THEN ASK THE INTERVIEWEE TO PROVIDE THE INFORMATION REQUIRED
If you do not have it with you, could you remember the following information on your last pack of cigarettes or hand-rolling tobacco?
a) Type of pack:
1[ ]20 cigarette pack
2[ ]10 cigarette pack
3[ ]Hand-rolling tobacco Grams: |___|___|___|
4[ ]Other, i.e., ______________________
b) Health warnings
1[ ]Health warnings in [country specific] language
2[ ]Health warnings in foreign language
3[ ]Lack of health warnings
c) Tax stamp (banderole)
1[ ][Country specific] stamp
2[ ]Foreign stamp - What country? ______________________
3[ ]Stamp removed or destroyed
4[ ]Lack of stamp/Duty-free pack
d) How much did you pay for it? |___|___|.|___|___| € (or local currency)
(if he/she does not answer, write 99)
e) Where did you buy it?
1[ ]National legal tobacco shops/legitimate retailers (full price) [UK, Spain]
2[ ]Vending machines
3[ ]Internet
4[ ]Shops in other countries
5[ ]Duty-free shops
6[ ]Individual selling cigarettes independently at local markets, delivery service, door-to-door, or just in the street, or cheap cigarettes from legitimate retailers [UK, Spain]
7[ ]Offered
Personnel and Training Required
None
Equipment Needs
None
Requirements
| Requirement Category | Required |
|---|---|
| Major equipment | No |
| Specialized training | No |
| Specialized requirements for biospecimen collection | No |
| Average time of greater than 15 minutes in an unaffected individual | No |
Mode of Administration
Interviewer-administered questionnaire
Lifestage
Adolescent, Adult
Participants
Adults (18+) and Youth (15-17)
Selection Rationale
The Pricing Policies and Control of Tobacco in Europe (PPACTE) survey is a face-to-face representative survey on smoking that was conducted in 2010. A sample of 18,056 participants (8,653 men and 9,403 women) were selected from 18 European countries. In each country, participants were representative of the population aged 15 or over in terms of age, sex, habitat, and socioeconomic characteristics. Understanding the use and extent of illicit tobacco products is essential for understanding compliance with tobacco tax policies, tobacco product regulations, and other tobacco control policies, as well as for understanding how effective these interventions are in reducing tobacco use
Language
English
Standards
| Standard | Name | ID | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| caDSR Form | PhenX PX740201 - Illicit Tobacco Products | 6254984 | caDSR Form |
Derived Variables
None
Process and Review
The Tobacco Regulatory Research (TRR) Content Expert Panel (CEP) reviewed the measures in the Tobacco Regulatory Research collection in February 2024.
Guidance from the TRR CEP includes:
- Updated General References
Back-compatible: no changes to Data Dictionary
Previous version in Toolkit archive (link)
Protocol Name from Source
Pricing Policies and Control of Tobacco in Europe (PPACTE) Study
Source
European Commission. (2010). Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP7), Pricing Policies and Control of Tobacco in Europe (PPACTE) Study. Section B, pp. 87-89, Items B2, B8, B10. Brussels: Author.
General References
Chung-Hall J, Fong GT, Meng G, et al. (2023). Illicit cigarette purchasing after implementation of menthol cigarette bans in Canada: findings from the 2016-2018 ITC Four Country Smoking and Vaping Surveys. Tobacco Control Published Online First: 06 January 2023. doi: 10.1136/tc-2022-057697
Gallus, S., Lugo, A., La Vecchia, C., et al. (2012). Pricing Policies and Control of Tobacco in Europe (PPACTE), WP2: European Survey on Smoking. Dublin: PPACTE Consortium, 2012.
Hefler, M., Durkin, S.J., Cohen, J.E., Henriksen, L., OConnor, R., Barnoya, J., Hill, S.E. and Malone, R.E., 2023. New policy of people-first language to replace ‘smoker’, ‘vaper’, ‘ tobacco user’ and other behaviour-based labels. Tobacco control, 32(2), pp.133-134.
Joosens, L., Lugo, A., La Vecchia, C., Gilmore, A. B., Clancy, L., & Gallus, S. (2012). Illicit cigarettes and hand-rolled tobacco in 18 European countries: A cross-sectional survey. Tobacco Control, 23, e1 e17-e23. doi:10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2012-050644
Ross, H. (2015). Understanding and Measuring Cigarette Tax Avoidance and Evasion: A Methodological Guide. https://www.tobacconomics.org/files/research/187/Ross_Methods_to_Measure_Illicit-Trade_03-17-15.pdf
Protocol ID
740201
Variables
Export Variables| Variable Name | Variable ID | Variable Description | dbGaP Mapping | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PX740201_Illicit_Tobacco_Currently_SmokeCigarettes | ||||
| PX740201010000 | Do you currently smoke cigarettes (including more | N/A | ||
| PX740201_Illicit_Tobacco_LastPack_BoughtWhere | ||||
| PX740201030600 | Where did you buy it? | N/A | ||
| PX740201_Illicit_Tobacco_LastPack_HealthWarnings | ||||
| PX740201030300 | Health warnings | N/A | ||
| PX740201_Illicit_Tobacco_LastPack_Price | ||||
| PX740201030502 | How much did you pay for it? | N/A | ||
| PX740201_Illicit_Tobacco_LastPack_PriceEncoded | ||||
| PX740201030501 | How much did you pay for it? | N/A | ||
| PX740201_Illicit_Tobacco_LastPack_TaxStamp | ||||
| PX740201030401 | Tax stamp (banderole) | N/A | ||
| PX740201_Illicit_Tobacco_LastPack_TaxStamp_Country | ||||
| PX740201030402 | Tax stamp (banderole) | N/A | ||
| PX740201_Illicit_Tobacco_LastPack_Type | ||||
| PX740201030201 | INTERVIEWER: COLLECT ALL THE FOLLOWING more | N/A | ||
| PX740201_Illicit_Tobacco_LastPack_TypeGrams | ||||
| PX740201030202 | INTERVIEWER: COLLECT ALL THE FOLLOWING more | N/A | ||
| PX740201_Illicit_Tobacco_LastPack_TypeOther | ||||
| PX740201030203 | INTERVIEWER: COLLECT ALL THE FOLLOWING more | N/A | ||
| PX740201_Illicit_Tobacco_PercentageBought_DutyFreeShops | ||||
| PX740201020500 | Think about the total number of cigarettes more | N/A | ||
| PX740201_Illicit_Tobacco_PercentageBought_FromIndividualPerson | ||||
| PX740201020600 | Think about the total number of cigarettes more | N/A | ||
| PX740201_Illicit_Tobacco_PercentageBought_Internet | ||||
| PX740201020300 | Think about the total number of cigarettes more | N/A | ||
| PX740201_Illicit_Tobacco_PercentageBought_Legal_Retailers | ||||
| PX740201020100 | Think about the total number of cigarettes more | N/A | ||
| PX740201_Illicit_Tobacco_PercentageBought_OtherCountriesShops | ||||
| PX740201020400 | Think about the total number of cigarettes more | N/A | ||
| PX740201_Illicit_Tobacco_PercentageBought_VendingMachines | ||||
| PX740201020200 | Think about the total number of cigarettes more | N/A | ||
| PX740201_Illicit_Tobacco_Percentage_OfferedbyPeers | ||||
| PX740201020700 | Think about the total number of cigarettes more | N/A | ||
| PX740201_Illicit_Tobacco_ShowLast_Pack_Bought | ||||
| PX740201030100 | Please, could you show me the latest pack of more | N/A | ||
Measure Name
Illicit Tobacco Products
Release Date
June 24, 2015
Definition
This instrument includes questions about where tobacco products are purchased and whether the packaging contains tax stamps and health warning labels. It also involves a visual inspection of the package by the interviewer. Information gathered by this instrument is used to identify illicit tobacco products-those for which all relevant tobacco taxes have not been paid and/or which are not compliant with other tobacco product regulations and policies (e.g., labeling and packaging policies).
Purpose
The purpose of this measure is to assess whether tobacco products are licit (compliant with tax and other policies) or illicit (not compliant with tobacco tax policies and other tobacco product regulations and/or policies).
Keywords
Pricing Policies and Control of Tobacco in Europe, PPACTE, pricing policies, tobacco control, tobacco products, cigarettes, purchase, location, taxes, stamps, tax stamp, illicit tobacco, contraband, tax avoidance, tax evasion, smuggling, bootlegging, cross-border shopping
Measure Protocols
| Protocol ID | Protocol Name |
|---|---|
| 740201 | Illicit Tobacco Products |
Publications
Garcia-Cazarin, M.L., Mandal, R.J., Grana, R., Wanke, K.L., Meissner, H. (2020) Host-agent-vector-environment measures for electronic cigarette research used in NIH grants. Tobacco Control. 2020 January; 29(1). doi: 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2017-054032