Study shows increase in menthol consumption among US adults who smoke cigarettes

Study shows increase in menthol consumption among US adults who smoke cigarettes

Menthol consumption among U.S. adults who smoke cigarettes has increased over the past decade, according to a study published by Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and the City University of New York. Menthol use is much more common among adult smokers who are younger, from racial/ethnic minority groups, and have mental health problems. The results will be published in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research.

Menthol use was common in approximately two out of five cigarette smokers overall. Over 80 percent of Black smokers preferred menthol in 2020, which is stable compared to previous reports.

“That about 50 percent of Hispanic smokers, women ages 18-25 and 26-34, lesbians/gays, and adults with mental health problems used menthol in 2020 is higher than previously reported and suggests that use has expanded to include all segments of the population of adults who smoke cigarettes.”

Renee D. Goodwin, PhD, Department of Epidemiology, Columbia Mailman School

Canada and the United Kingdom have banned menthol as a distinctive flavor, while the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has taken no action, although the Center for Tobacco Products has announced its intention to issue a product standard that would ban menthol as a distinctive flavor in cigarettes. Angesichts des regulatorischen Prozesses, der für die Herausgabe eines Produktstandards erforderlich ist, und des Potenzials für Rechtsstreitigkeiten in der Tabakindustrie werden Mentholzigaretten jedoch wahrscheinlich noch eine beträchtliche Zeit auf dem Markt bleiben, stellen Experten fest.

"Our findings suggest that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's ban on menthol as a signature flavor in cigarettes could have widespread public health implications, particularly among younger people and marginalized populations," Goodwin said.

To estimate trends in menthol use among adults who smoke cigarettes by sociodemographic, mental health and substance use variables, researchers analyzed annual nationally representative data from 128,327 people ages 18 and older living in the United States from 2008-2019 and 2020 from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). Depression was assessed using the DSM-IV criteria for a major depressive episode.

Menthol cigarette use among adults who smoked cigarettes increased significantly overall from 34 percent in 2008 to 41 percent in 2019. In 2020, 43 percent of adults who smoked cigarettes in the past month used menthol. Menthol use was most common among black adults (80 percent). Over 50 percent of Hispanic, female, young (ages 18-34), lesbian/gay people with serious psychological distress and who used cigars also used menthol. Menthol use increased more rapidly among adults, Hispanics, light cigarette users (1-5 per day), and cigar smokers.

One notable finding was the increase and majority of menthol use among Hispanic adults during the study period (34 percent in 2008 to 48 percent in 2019) and 51 percent in 2020, with a faster increase among Hispanics compared to non-Hispanic white smokers. “There has been a lack of research in this area,” observes Goodwin, who offers a number of possible explanations for the increasing popularity of menthol cigarettes among Hispanic smokers. “For one thing, there is evidence of increased marketing of menthol cigarettes to Hispanic adults.”

“Our study shows persistent and unmitigated disparities in menthol use among members of the tobacco use disparity group,” Goodwin said. “Data from 2020 show that the increase in menthol consumption among smokers over the past decade has been widespread across all subgroups.”

Co-authors are Ollie Ganz and Cristine Delnevo, Rutgers University School of Public Health; Andrea H. Weinberger, Yeshiva University and Albert Einstein College of Medicine; Philip H. Smith, Miami University; and Katarzyna Wyka, The City University of New York.

Source:

Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health

Reference:

Goodwin, R.D., et al. (2022) Menthol cigarette use among adults who smoke cigarettes, 2008 to 2020: Rapid growth and increasing inequities in the United States. Nicotine and Tobacco Research. doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntac214.

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