Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39732502›Full record

ArticleTobacco control2026

Effect of a minimum floor price law for tobacco products on tobacco sales in Oakland, California, USA: a synthetic difference-in-differences analysis.

Justin S White, Serge Atherwood, Dorie E Apollonio

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Tobacco control, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Justin S WhiteDepartment of Health Law, Policy and Management, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA juswhite@bu.edu.ORCID 0000-0002-3388-9569
Serge AtherwoodDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-9434-1401
Dorie E ApollonioSchool of Pharmacy, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-4694-0826

Funding

Addressing disparities in tobacco-related diseases by understanding the tobacco industry strategiesR01CA268491 · NCI · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · PI STELLA AGUINAGA BIALOUS, Pamela May Ling · 2022 to 2026
$3.4M
NCI NIH HHS R01 CA268491
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIn May 2020, Oakland became the most populous city in California to implement a minimum floor price law (MFPL), requiring tobacco retailers to sell cigarettes and cigars at $8 or more per pack/package. Policy enforcement began in August 2020.

methodsWe estimated changes in cigarette and cigar prices and unit sales for Oakland versus a matched comparator during the first 20 months following MFPL implementation using a synthetic difference-in-differences approach. We estimated outcome changes overall and by lower-priced (<$8) versus higher-priced (≥$8) segments based on pre-MFPL prices. We also assessed retailer compliance with the MFPL. We further estimated cross-border shopping as a means of price increase avoidance and substitution to electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) and nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products as alternative consumer responses to the MFPL.

resultsRetailer compliance was high for cigarettes (97.5%) but extremely low for cigars (7.4%). Lower-priced cigarettes in Oakland exhibited: increased median price per pack of 9.0%, a decline in mean monthly sales of 25.2%, and no evidence of significant cross-border shopping (-1.2%) following MFPL enforcement. Lower-priced cigars in Oakland experienced no price change, yet a large sales decline post-enforcement (-58.8%), with a partially-offsetting increase in cross-border shopping (11.0%) post-enforcement. We observed no significant product substitution to higher-priced cigarettes or cigars nor to ENDS or NRT products.

conclusionsOakland's MFPL produced an aggregate decline in cigarette sales of 15%. MFPLs hold promise as a complement to tobacco taxation for reducing tobacco use, especially in localities that pre-empt local tobacco taxation.

Indexed as

CommerceTobacco ProductsCaliforniaConsumer BehaviorElectronic Nicotine Delivery SystemsHumansEconomicsPricePublic policy

Identifiers

PMID39732502
PMCPMC12978293

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.