UNC Tobacco Convenience Store

April 23, 2026 updated by: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

UNC Tobacco Convenience Store Study

The main purpose of this trial is to evaluate the impact of a menthol cigarette ban accompanied by a quit smoking campaign on tobacco purchasing behavior. Investigators will conduct a randomized clinical trial with ~1,185 US adults (ages 21+ years) who currently smoke menthol cigarettes.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

This trial aims to determine whether a quit smoking campaign amplifies the impact of a simulated menthol cigarette ban. The trial will enroll ~1,185 adults ages 21 years and older who currently smoke menthol cigarettes. Participants will attend 2 in-person study visits at our experimental store, spaced approximately 1 week apart. The store will be stocked with a variety of tobacco products, food, non-alcoholic beverages, and household goods. At the first visit, participants will provide written informed consent and will be randomized to 1 of 3 trial arms, described further below. At both study visits, participants will shop for items in the store and complete computer surveys. Researchers will record in-store purchases and other self-reported measures will be assessed via the computer surveys. In between the in-person study visits, participants will receive ads via text message based on their trial arm.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
1185

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • North Carolina
      • Raleigh, North Carolina, United States, 27609
        • Recruiting
        • UNC Mini Mart
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Marissa Hall, PhD
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Are ages 21 years and older
  • Smoke cigarettes currently (i.e. currently smoke some days or every day and have smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime)
  • Smoke menthol cigarettes
  • Purchased menthol cigarettes in a store in the past month
  • Read and speak English
  • Can complete a survey on a computer without help
  • Can receive images by text message
  • Can attend 2 in-person appointments involving shopping tasks and computer surveys

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Are pregnant
  • Are breastfeeding
  • Enrolled currently in another research study about quitting smoking

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Other: Control
Behavioral: Control
Menthol cigarettes and flavored little cigars and cigarillos will be available for purchase in the store. Participants will receive control ads about a neutral topic (i.e., password security) via text message. These ads will also be displayed inside the store during the shopping tasks.
Experimental: Menthol ban + campaign
Behavioral: Menthol ban + campaign
Menthol cigarettes and flavored little cigars and cigarillos will not be available for purchase in the store. Participants will receive quit smoking campaign ads via text message. These ads will also be displayed inside the store during the shopping tasks.
Experimental: Menthol ban
Behavioral: Menthol ban
Menthol cigarettes and flavored little cigars and cigarillos will not be available for purchase in the store. Participants will receive control ads about a neutral topic (i.e., password security) via text message. These ads will also be displayed inside the store during the shopping tasks.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Purchasing any combustible tobacco products
Time Frame: Assessed 2 times approximately 1-week apart, starting on the day of enrollment.
Measured using purchase data for combustible tobacco products, defined as any cigarettes or little cigars and cigarillos. Response options are "No" (coded as 0) and "Yes" (coded as 1).
Assessed 2 times approximately 1-week apart, starting on the day of enrollment.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Expenditures on combustible tobacco products
Time Frame: Assessed 2 times approximately 1-week apart, starting on the day of enrollment.
Measured using purchase data for combustible tobacco products, defined as any cigarettes or little cigars and cigarillos. This measure is in US dollars, ranging from $0 to $70.
Assessed 2 times approximately 1-week apart, starting on the day of enrollment.
Purchasing any non-combustible tobacco products (substitution effects)
Time Frame: Assessed 2 times approximately 1-week apart, starting on the day of enrollment.
Measured using purchase data on whether participants bought any non-combustible tobacco products, defined as any e-cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, or nicotine pouches. Response options are "No" (coded as 0) and "Yes" (coded as 1).
Assessed 2 times approximately 1-week apart, starting on the day of enrollment.
Attempted to quit smoking
Time Frame: Assessed 1 time, approximately 1 week after enrollment.
Measured using 1 survey item: "In the last week, did you stop smoking cigarettes for 1 day or longer because you were trying to quit smoking?" Response options are "No" coded as 0) and "Yes" (coded as 1).
Assessed 1 time, approximately 1 week after enrollment.
Forgoing cigarette use
Time Frame: Assessed 1 time, approximately 1 week after enrollment.
Measured using 2 survey items (e.g., " In the last week, how often have you stopped yourself from having a cigarette because you wanted to smoke less?"). The 5-point response scale ranges from "Never" coded as 0, to "10 or more times", coded as 10. Researchers will average responses to the 2 survey items to create a scale score. Higher scores indicate greater frequency of forgoing cigarettes.
Assessed 1 time, approximately 1 week after enrollment.
Intentions to quit smoking
Time Frame: Assessed 2 times approximately 1-week apart, starting on the day of enrollment.
Measured using 3 survey items (e.g., "How interested are you in quitting smoking cigarettes in the next 4 weeks?"). The 4-point response scale ranges from low intentions (coded as 1) to high intentions (coded as 4). Researchers will average responses to the 3 survey items to create a scale score. Higher scores indicate greater intentions to quit smoking.
Assessed 2 times approximately 1-week apart, starting on the day of enrollment.
Injunctive norms for quitting smoking
Time Frame: Assessed 2 times approximately 1-week apart, starting on the day of enrollment.
Measured using 3 survey items (e.g., "People who are important to me think I should quit smoking."). The 5-point response scale ranges from "Strongly disagree" (coded as 1) to "Strongly agree" (coded as 5). Researchers will average responses to the 3 survey items to create a scale score. Higher scores indicate greater injunctive norms for quitting smoking.
Assessed 2 times approximately 1-week apart, starting on the day of enrollment.
Reactance towards cigarette options
Time Frame: Assessed 2 times approximately 1-week apart, starting on the day of enrollment.
Measured using 3 survey items (e.g., "I was annoyed by the cigarette options in the Mini Mart."). The 5-point response scale ranges from "Strongly disagree" (coded as 1) to "Strongly agree" (coded as 5). Researchers will average responses to the 3 survey items to create a scale score. Higher scores indicate greater reactance toward cigarette options.
Assessed 2 times approximately 1-week apart, starting on the day of enrollment.
Reactance towards ads
Time Frame: Assessed 2 times approximately 1-week apart, starting on the day of enrollment.
Measured using 3 survey items (e.g., "The ads annoyed me."). The 5-point response scale ranging from "Strongly disagree" (coded as 1) to "Strongly agree" (coded as 5). Researchers will average responses to the 3 survey items to create a scale score. Higher scores indicate greater reactance toward ads.
Assessed 2 times approximately 1-week apart, starting on the day of enrollment.
Stigma from cigarette options
Time Frame: Assessed 2 times approximately 1-week apart, starting on the day of enrollment.
Measured using 1 survey item (i.e., "How much did the cigarette options in the Mini Mart make you feel judged by other people for smoking?"). The 5-point response scale ranges from "Not at all" (coded as 1) to "A great deal" (coded as 5) to create a scale score. Higher scores indicate greater stigma from cigarette options.
Assessed 2 times approximately 1-week apart, starting on the day of enrollment.
Stigma from ads
Time Frame: Assessed 2 times approximately 1-week apart, starting on the day of enrollment.
Measured using 1 survey item (i.e., "How much did the ads make you feel judged by other people for smoking?"). The 5-point response scale ranges from "Not at all" (coded as 1) to "A great deal" (coded as 5). Higher scores indicate greater stigma from ads.
Assessed 2 times approximately 1-week apart, starting on the day of enrollment.
Targeted benefits of quitting smoking
Time Frame: Assessed 2 times approximately 1-week apart, starting on the day of enrollment.
Measured using 6 survey items (e.g., "If you were to stop smoking, how likely would you be to get more quality time with loved ones?"). The 5-point response scale ranges from "Not at all likely" (coded as 1) to "Extremely likely" (coded as 5). Researchers will average responses to the 7 survey items to create a scale score. Higher scores indicate greater targeted benefits of quitting smoking.
Assessed 2 times approximately 1-week apart, starting on the day of enrollment.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Study Director: Marissa G. Hall, PhD, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
April 20, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
April 1, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
April 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
March 4, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 4, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
March 9, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
April 27, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 23, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 24-0398
  • U54DA060049 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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