Health warnings placed directly on vaping products could reduce their appeal

A Canadian study conducted in Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec suggests that health warnings printed directly on nicotine products, rather than just on their packaging, could reduce the desire to try or buy e-cigarettes and cigarettes. Price increases would also have a deterrent effect, while plain packaging for vape pods appeared to have little impact in this study.[1].

An experiment measuring the effect of measures on the appeal of tobacco products and other nicotine products

Researchers surveyed 1,839 young non-cigarette users (7 of whom currently smoke traditional cigarettes), aged 16 to 29, and 1,122 e-cigarette users (half of whom are dual users, meaning they also smoke traditional cigarettes) who had vaped within the 30 days prior to the survey. Participants were asked to choose between JUUL vaping pods, IQOS heated tobacco sticks, and du Maurier traditional cigarettes, based on four characteristics: the presence or absence of a product warning, the pods' plain packaging, information on nicotine concentration, and price.

The study was based on a discrete choice experiment, a method that measures stated preferences based on hypothetical scenarios. Respondents indicated which product they would be most likely to buy, or try (for non-users), as well as which one they perceived as posing the lowest health risk. The prices tested were current prices, then increases of 20 and 40. For vaping capsules, the nicotine concentration ranged from 1.5 to 5 mg.

Health warnings have the clearest deterrent effect

In the current state of the products without new measures, the predicted probability that a young non-user would choose "no product" was 0.50. When a warning was placed on all three types of products, this probability rose to 0.65, an increase of 15 points.

Among e-cigarette users, the predicted probability of choosing "no product" increased from 0.10 to 0.18 in the same scenario. The authors point out that the effect was greater when the warnings appeared simultaneously on all three products, suggesting a synergistic action.

The warnings also altered risk perception. They reduced the predicted likelihood that respondents would consider e-cigarettes the least risky option, without increasing their attraction to heated tobacco or cigarettes.

Price and nicotine concentration also influence choices

The price increase of 40 % vaping pods reduced the predicted probability that users would choose them by seven points, from 0.55 to 0.48. This isolated increase slightly boosted the appeal of heated tobacco sticks and cigarettes, but the substitution effects remained limited. When the prices of all three products increased simultaneously by 40 %, these substitution effects became negligible: the predicted probability of choosing "no product" increased by two points, from 0.10 to 0.12, while the preference for cigarettes decreased slightly.

The lower nicotine concentration in the capsules seems to increase their appeal: among non-users, the predicted probability of choosing this product increased from 0.37 to 0.42. E-cigarette users also expressed a preference for capsules with lower nicotine content.

However, the neutral packaging of vaping capsules did not significantly alter purchase or trial intentions.

The results were broadly similar across provinces, gender, household income, and age. However, usage patterns made a difference: unlike exclusive e-cigarette users, dual users (vaping and smoking) did not prefer low-nicotine pods and exhibited more pronounced substitution effects when a product's price increased.

Recommendations for national and international public health policies

The authors thus highlight once again the fact that combined intervention strategies act synergistically. These appear to be most effective preventively among young non-users. Their effectiveness is more limited among those who already vape, and particularly among dual users who smoke and vape.

The authors believe their findings provide further support for placing health warnings directly on products, not just on their packaging. They argue that this measure could reduce experimentation with and use of e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products, and conventional cigarettes, provided it is applied to all nicotine products. However, they recommend against considering warnings as the sole solution. The researchers specifically recommend accompanying them with information campaigns tailored to the characteristics of each product.

From a fiscal perspective, the study supports a price increase for all nicotine products, and particularly for traditional cigarettes. The authors note that the price increase for tobacco cigarettes has not led to a greater preference for vaping capsules or heated tobacco products.

Finally, the expressed preference for low-nicotine pods leads researchers to question the effectiveness of the Canadian limit of 20 mg/mL, in effect since 2021. According to them, this regulation may not have been sufficient to reduce e-cigarette use: if users prefer the lowest concentrations, limiting nicotine to this threshold does not appear to have discouraged vaping. The authors therefore believe that other measures should be considered to complement this policy.

The researchers point out several limitations of their work: the survey was conducted with an online panel, the choices were hypothetical, and choosing "no product" does not necessarily mean a desire to permanently quit smoking or vaping. The results should therefore be interpreted as indicators of preferences and intentions, not as a direct measure of actual behavior.

This study nevertheless reveals concerns related to the consumption of tobacco and other nicotine products among young people worldwide. Within the European Union, a A call was launched on October 7, 2026 by the European Parliament's Health Committee in favour of stricter regulation of these new nicotine products.. Both studies converge on the idea that protecting young people requires measures that address, among other things, and simultaneously, information, product composition, and price. The study shows, in particular, that health warnings placed directly on e-cigarettes, heated tobacco, and cigarettes could discourage purchase or trial, while higher prices reduce product accessibility, especially in this study for vaping pods.

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[1]Guindon GE, Mentzakis E., Buckley NJ et al., E-cigarette, heated tobacco, and cigarette preferences among Canadian e-cigarette users and nonusers: A discrete choice experiment, Canadian Journal of Public Health, published October 29, 2026, accessed November 2, 2026

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