Loading…

Protocol - Illicit Tobacco Products

Add to My Toolkit
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

Available

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)

  1. Cigarettes from national legal tobacco shops/legitimate retailers (full price) [UK, Spain] |___|___|___| %
  2. Cigarettes from vending machines |___|___|___| %
  3. Cigarettes bought over the internet |___|___|___| %
  4. Cigarettes from shops in other countries |___|___|___| %
  5. Cigarettes from duty-free shops |___|___|___| %
  6. 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] |___|___|___| %
  7. 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 CategoryRequired
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
StandardNameIDSource
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 IDVariable DescriptiondbGaP Mapping
PX740201_Illicit_Tobacco_Currently_SmokeCigarettes
PX740201010000 Do you currently smoke cigarettes (including more
hand-rolled cigarettes)? show less
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
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 infor show less
N/A
PX740201_Illicit_Tobacco_LastPack_TypeGrams
PX740201030202 INTERVIEWER: COLLECT ALL THE FOLLOWING more
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 infor show less
N/A
PX740201_Illicit_Tobacco_LastPack_TypeOther
PX740201030203 INTERVIEWER: COLLECT ALL THE FOLLOWING more
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 infor show less
N/A
PX740201_Illicit_Tobacco_PercentageBought_DutyFreeShops
PX740201020500 Think about the total number of cigarettes more
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" show less
N/A
PX740201_Illicit_Tobacco_PercentageBought_FromIndividualPerson
PX740201020600 Think about the total number of cigarettes more
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" show less
N/A
PX740201_Illicit_Tobacco_PercentageBought_Internet
PX740201020300 Think about the total number of cigarettes more
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" show less
N/A
PX740201_Illicit_Tobacco_PercentageBought_Legal_Retailers
PX740201020100 Think about the total number of cigarettes more
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" show less
N/A
PX740201_Illicit_Tobacco_PercentageBought_OtherCountriesShops
PX740201020400 Think about the total number of cigarettes more
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" show less
N/A
PX740201_Illicit_Tobacco_PercentageBought_VendingMachines
PX740201020200 Think about the total number of cigarettes more
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" show less
N/A
PX740201_Illicit_Tobacco_Percentage_OfferedbyPeers
PX740201020700 Think about the total number of cigarettes more
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" show less
N/A
PX740201_Illicit_Tobacco_ShowLast_Pack_Bought
PX740201030100 Please, could you show me the latest pack of more
cigarettes or hand-rolling tobacco that you bought? show less
N/A
Tobacco Regulatory Research: Vector
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