Utilizing Reach Ratios to Assess Menthol Cigarette Smoker Enrollment in Quitline Services

The use of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) among youth in the United States has increased rapidly in the past decade. Simultaneously, while youth cigarette smoking has declined considerably, youth are still more likely to use menthol cigarettes than any other age group. We used nationally representative data on 15–17-year-olds from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study and the National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) (2013–2017) to better understand current cigarette (by menthol flavoring) and ENDS use in the US. We calculated weighted population prevalence estimates across years for multiple patterns of current cigarette and ENDS use (i.e., exclusive menthol cigarette, exclusive non-menthol cigarette, exclusive ENDS, dual ENDS and menthol cigarette, and dual ENDS and non-menthol cigarette) by sex, race/ethnicity, parental education level, household income, and homeownership. Overall, both exclusive menthol and non-menthol cigarette use declined from 2013–2017. Exclusive ENDS use increased, particularly among youth who were non-Hispanic White or had a higher socioeconomic status (measured by parental education, household income, and homeownership). Dual use of ENDS with either menthol or non-menthol cigarettes did not change significantly. Monitoring changes in these sociodemographic patterns will help inform future youth tobacco prevention strategies.

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Smoking cessation strategies used by former menthol cigarette smokers after a menthol ban

Addictive Behaviors ◽

10.1016/j.addbeh.2021.107046 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 107046

Author(s):

Eric K. Soule ◽

Jolene Dubray ◽

Joanna E. Cohen ◽

Robert Schwartz ◽

Michael Chaiton

Keyword(s):

Smoking Cessation ◽

Cigarette Smokers ◽

Menthol Cigarette

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Corrigendum: National Support for a Menthol Cigarette Sales Ban

Public Health Reports ◽

10.1177/0033354920980421 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 003335492098042

Keyword(s):

Menthol Cigarette

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The relationships between menthol cigarette preference and state tobacco control policies on smoking behaviors of young adult smokers in the 2006-07 Tobacco Use Supplements to the Current Population Surveys (TUS CPS)

Addiction ◽

10.1111/j.1360-0443.2010.03201.x ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 105 ◽

pp. 46-54 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Karen Ahijevych ◽

Jodi Ford

Keyword(s):

Young Adult ◽

Tobacco Control ◽

Tobacco Use ◽

Population Surveys ◽

Control Policies ◽

Menthol Cigarette ◽

Current Population ◽

Tobacco Control Policies ◽

Smoking Behaviors

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Epidemiology of menthol cigarette use

Nicotine & Tobacco Research ◽

10.1080/14622203710001649696 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 67-81 ◽

Cited By ~ 139

Author(s):

Gary Giovino ◽

Stephen Sidney ◽

Joseph Gfroerer ◽

Patrick O'Malley ◽

Jane Allen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cigarette Use ◽

Menthol Cigarette

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Public health impact of a US ban on menthol in cigarettes and cigars: a simulation study

Tobacco Control ◽

10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2021-056604 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. tobaccocontrol-2021-056604

Author(s):

David T Levy ◽

Rafael Meza ◽

Zhe Yuan ◽

Yameng Li ◽

Christopher Cadham ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Smoking Initiation ◽

Health Impact ◽

Status Quo ◽

Expert Elicitation ◽

Sensitivity Analyses ◽

Public Health Impact ◽

Menthol Cigarette ◽

Life Years ◽

Life Years Lost

IntroductionThe US Food and Drug Administration most recently announced its intention to ban menthol cigarettes and cigars nationwide in April 2021. Implementation of the ban will require evidence that it would improve public health. This paper simulates the potential public health impact of a ban on menthol in cigarettes and cigars through its impacts on smoking initiation, smoking cessation and switching to nicotine vaping products (NVPs).MethodsAfter calibrating an established US simulation model to reflect recent use trends in cigarette and NVP use, we extended the model to incorporate menthol and non-menthol cigarette use under a status quo scenario. Applying estimates from a recent expert elicitation on the behavioural impacts of a menthol ban, we developed a menthol ban scenario with the ban starting in 2021. We estimated the public health impact as the difference between smoking and vaping-attributable deaths and life-years lost in the status quo scenario and the menthol ban scenario from 2021 to 2060.ResultsAs a result of the ban, overall smoking was estimated to decline by 15% as early as 2026 due to menthol smokers quitting both NVP and combustible use or switching to NVPs. These transitions are projected to reduce cumulative smoking and vaping-attributable deaths from 2021 to 2060 by 5% (650 000 in total) and reduce life-years lost by 8.8% (11.3 million). Sensitivity analyses showed appreciable public health benefits across different parameter specifications.Conclusions and relevanceOur findings strongly support the implementation of a ban on menthol in cigarettes and cigars.

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Menthol Cigarettes, Tobacco Dependence, and Smoking Persistence: The Need to Examine Enhanced Cognitive Functioning as a Neuropsychological Mechanism

Nicotine & Tobacco Research ◽

10.1093/ntr/nty264 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 22 (4) ◽

pp. 466-472 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Nancy C Jao ◽

Marcia M Tan ◽

Phoenix A Matthews ◽

Melissa A Simon ◽

Robert Schnoll ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

United States ◽

Cognitive Functioning ◽

Basic Science ◽

Tobacco Dependence ◽

The United States ◽

Science Literature ◽

Cigarette Use ◽

Menthol Cigarette ◽

Menthol Cigarettes

Abstract Introduction Despite the overall decline in the prevalence of cigarette use in the United States, menthol cigarette use among smokers is rising, and evidence shows that it may lead to more detrimental effects on public health than regular cigarette use. One of the mechanisms by which nicotine sustains tobacco use and dependence is due to its cognitive enhancing properties, and basic science literature suggests that menthol may also enhance nicotine’s acute effect on cognition. Aims and Methods The purpose of this review is to suggest that the cognitive enhancing effects of menthol may be a potentially important neuropsychological mechanism that has yet to be examined. In this narrative review, we provide an overview of basic science studies examining neurobiological and cognitive effects of menthol and menthol cigarette smoking. We also review studies examining menthol essential oils among humans that indicate menthol alone has acute cognitive enhancing properties. Finally, we present factors influencing the rising prevalence of menthol cigarette use among smokers and the importance of this gap in the literature to improve public health and smoking cessation treatment. Conclusions Despite the compelling evidence for menthol’s acute cognitive enhancing and reinforcing effects, this mechanism for sustaining tobacco dependence and cigarette use has yet to be examined and validated among humans. On the basis of the basic science evidence for menthol’s neurobiological effects on nicotinic receptors and neurotransmitters, perhaps clarifying menthol’s effect on cognitive performance can help to elucidate the complicated literature examining menthol and tobacco dependence. Implications Menthol cigarette use has continued to be a topic of debate among researchers and policy makers, because of its implications for understanding menthol’s contribution to nicotine dependence and smoking persistence, as well as its continued use as a prevalent flavoring in tobacco and nicotine products in the United States and internationally. As international tobacco regulation policies have begun to target menthol cigarettes, research studies need to examine how flavoring additives, specifically menthol, may acutely influence neurobiological and cognitive functioning as a potential mechanism of sustained smoking behavior to develop more effective treatments.

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