Research Letter
November 11, 2024
Online Retailer Nonadherence to Age Verification, Shipping, and Flavor Restrictions on E-Cigarettes
Raquel M. Harati, Shannon E. Ellis, Nora Satybaldiyeva, et al
JAMA. 2024;332(24):2113-2114. doi:10.1001/jama.2024.21597
To curtail youth access to vaping products, the 2020 Preventing Online Sales of E-Cigarettes to Children Act implemented a ban on the use of the United States Postal Service (USPS) to ship vaping products and mandated identification (ID)-scan authentication of age on delivery.1 Sales restrictions on flavored tobacco have also been enacted in 8 US states and 392 cities or counties (as of March 21, 2024),2 but some of these do not cover e-commerce.3 We assessed whether online vaping retailers adhered to age verification, shipping method, and flavor restrictions by attempting to purchase flavored vaping products online and have them delivered to residential households in San Diego, California, which has a flavor restriction policy that encompasses e-commerce.4
Methods
Throughout October 2023, 16 buyers made attempts to purchase flavored nicotine vaping products that had been preselected by study staff on 78 websites that were identified using search engines (Google Search, Google Maps, and Yelp) (eMethods in Supplement 1). Two website purchase attempts were made in matched pairs, with one buyer residing in San Diego and the other residing in another jurisdiction in San Diego County, California, where there was no restriction on the sale of flavored tobacco via e-commerce. All buyers were older than 21 years, provided their actual age and billing information, and attempted to have products delivered to their permanent residential address. Buyers attempted purchases using a preloaded Visa e-gift card or their own credit card and selected USPS as the shipping method if available. Once buyers received an order, they reported details of their interactions with delivery personnel in a survey and returned the parcel to study staff. A laboratory assistant then took pictures of various parts of the parcel for record keeping. The parcel was independently reviewed by 6 trained study staff working in pairs (R.M.H., S.E.E., N.S., T.M., G.B., and E.C.L.) to determine the shipping method, with disagreements adjudicated by an additional reviewer (S.E.E.). The University of California San Diego institutional review board did not consider this study human subjects research. Additional methodological details are provided in the eMethods in Supplement 1.
We report the proportion of deliveries that adhered to age verification, shipping method, and flavored tobacco sales restrictions. The difference in completed delivery rates between matched pairs was assessed using a 2-sided McNemar test with α = .05.
Results
Of the 156 purchase attempts made, 114 transactions (73.1%) were processed and 105 deliveries (67.3%) were completed (Table). At least 1 product was delivered from 59 of the 78 retailers (75.6%). Rates of delivery did not significantly differ for buyers residing in San Diego, where there is a local flavored tobacco sales restriction (69.2%), or in other areas of the county where there is no such policy (65.4%) (P = .58).
Among the 105 deliveries, only 1.0% of buyers had their ID scanned by delivery personnel as required by law. Most buyers (78.1%) reported no interaction with delivery personnel, 15.2% spoke with delivery personnel but did not have their ID checked, and 5.7% had their ID checked but not scanned by delivery personnel.
There was strong agreement between coders on the shipping methods that retailers used (Cohen k = 0.77). Among the 99 completed deliveries with packaging, 80.8% arrived via USPS. Additionally, 8.8% arrived via couriers that had corporate policies that restrict shipment of tobacco, including 4.0% via UPS, 3.0% via FedEx, and 1.8% via DHL.
Discussion
These results demonstrated pervasive nonadherence to age verification, shipping, and flavored tobacco restrictions among online tobacco retailers. Study limitations include that the data came from only 1 US county; however, its tobacco control ordinances are some of the strongest in the country. Jurisdictions should consider whether to permit online tobacco sales and, if permitted, ensure that retail policies such as flavor restrictions unambiguously cover online sales.5 Routine surveillance of online retailers may identify opportunities to strengthen the implementation of existing public health laws designed to reduce sales of tobacco products to individuals aged 20 years or younger.
