What more evidence is needed? Remove menthol cigarettes from the marketplace—now

Many current smokers incorrectly believe that menthol cigarettes are less harmful, likely due to the biological and sensory effects of menthol, which can lead smokers to have favourable sensory experiences. In this study, we measured the extent to which Australian smokers associate certain sensory experiences with smoking menthol and non-menthol cigarettes, and their beliefs about how damaging and enjoyable they find cigarettes with each of these sensory experiences. A sample of 999 Australian 18–69-year-old weekly smokers was recruited from a non-probability online panel; this study focuses on the 245 respondents who currently smoked menthol cigarettes at least once per week. Current menthol smokers were four to nine times more likely to experience menthol rather than non-menthol cigarettes as having favourable sensory experiences, including feeling smooth, being soothing on the throat, fresh-tasting and clean-feeling. Menthol smokers perceived cigarettes with these favourable sensations as less damaging and more enjoyable than cigarettes with the opposite more aversive sensory experience. Efforts to correct these misperceptions about risk will likely require messages that provide new information to help smokers understand that these sensations do not indicate a lower level of risk. Banning menthol in tobacco products—as has recently been done in some nations—would also be a timely and justified strategy for protecting consumers.

Download Full-text

Sociodemographic Patterns of Exclusive and Dual Use of ENDS and Menthol/Non-Menthol Cigarettes among US Youth (Ages 15–17) Using Two Nationally Representative Surveys (2013–2017)

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18157781 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (15) ◽

pp. 7781

Author(s):

Akash Patel ◽

Jana L. Hirschtick ◽

Steven Cook ◽

Bukola Usidame ◽

Ritesh Mistry ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Household Income ◽

Parental Education ◽

The United States ◽

Tobacco Prevention ◽

Dual Use ◽

Parental Education Level ◽

Menthol Cigarette ◽

Menthol Cigarettes ◽

Current Cigarette ◽

Nationally Representative

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.

Download Full-text

Menthol cigarettes and smoking cessation behavior

Tobacco Induced Diseases ◽

10.1186/1617-9625-9-s1-s6 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 9 (Suppl 1) ◽

pp. S6 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Allison C Hoffman ◽

Donna Miceli

Keyword(s):

Smoking Cessation ◽

Menthol Cigarettes

Download Full-text

Consequences of a match made in hell: the harm caused by menthol smoking to the African American population over 1980–2018

Tobacco Control ◽

10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2021-056748 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. tobaccocontrol-2021-056748 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

David Mendez ◽

Thuy T T Le

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

African American ◽

African Americans ◽

Smoking Initiation ◽

African American Community ◽

American Population ◽

The Public ◽

African American Population ◽

Menthol Cigarettes ◽

Life Years

BackgroundFor many years, national surveys have shown a consistently disproportionately high prevalence of menthol smokers among African Americans compared with the general population. However, to our knowledge, no prior study has quantified the harm that menthol smoking has caused on that population. In this work, we estimate the public health harm that menthol cigarettes have caused to the African American community over the last four decades.MethodsUsing National Health Interview Survey data, we employed a well-established simulation model to reproduce the observed smoking trajectory over 1980–2018 in the African American population. Then, we repeat the experiment, removing the effects of menthol on the smoking initiation and cessation rates over that period, obtaining a new hypothetical smoking trajectory. Finally, we compared both scenarios to calculate the public health harm attributable to menthol cigarettes over 1980–2018.ResultsOur results show that menthol cigarettes were responsible for 1.5 million new smokers, 157 000 smoking-related premature deaths and 1.5 million life-years lost among African Americans over 1980–2018. While African Americans constitute 12% of the total US population, these figures represent, respectively, a staggering 15%, 41% and 50% of the total menthol-related harm.DiscussionOur results show that menthol cigarettes disproportionally harmed African Americans significantly over the last 38 years and are responsible for exacerbating health disparities among that population. Removing menthol cigarettes from the market would benefit the overall US population but, particularly, the African American community.

Download Full-text

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.

Download Full-text