Initial Validation of Oral Nicotine Pouch Purchase Tasks in a Crowdsourced Sample of Adult Pouch Consumers

Introduction: Oral nicotine pouches are rapidly proliferating in the market. While pouches may be a harm reduction option, these products may appeal to adolescents and may elicit greater nicotine exposure. Behavioral economics provides a framework for studying the reinforcing value of these products; however, there are no validated measures for assessing demand for nicotine pouches.Aims and Methods: This study evaluated behavioral economic purchase tasks for nicotine pouches. Crowdsourced data were collected from 228 adult pouch consumers (40% women; age, M(SD)=31.1(11.9); past-month pouch use, M(SD)= 15.4(8.1) days; Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence-Smokeless Tobacco Version, M(SD)=4.7(2.4). Participants completed two hypothetical purchase tasks with the products available as individual pouches (free—$5/pouch) or tins containing 20 pouches each (free—$100/tin). Results: Task responding was prototypical with a similar percentage of nonsystematic data across versions. Participants consumed approximately 35 tins or 73 pouches when products were free (intensity), spent a total of $206 on tins or $43 on pouches (Omax), and had a breakpoint of $4/pouch or $56/tin. Observed and derived metrics exhibited expected within-task intercorrelations. Demand for tins was significantly correlated with dependence (rs =.29-46, ps<.005), while correlations for pouches were less consistent. Conclusions: This proof-of-concept study provides initial validation of two versions of nicotine pouch purchase tasks. Data preliminarily indicate that a tins version may be more sensitive to dependence severity. In contrast, the pouch version may be important for studies of state-based influences on demand.