Menthol In Cigarettes Promotes Smoking Among Adolescents And Young Adults

Main Category: Smoking / Quit Smoking
Article Date: 16 Jul 2008 - 16:00 PDT

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Researchers examined U.S. cigarette brands popular among youth to determine whether or not tobacco manufacturers manipulate menthol in an effort to target young, experimental smokers. Menthol in cigarettes masks harshness and irritation for new smokers. Menthol is used as an additive in approximately 90% of cigarettes manufactured in the United States, although only about one-third of these cigarettes are explicitly marketed as mentholated. This study used data from tobacco industry documents on menthol product development, lab testing results of U.S. menthol brands, market research reports, and the 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an annual nationally representative survey among U.S. residents aged 12 years and older. The researchers found that tobacco companies control menthol in specific brands to target the sensory preferences of new or younger smokers, primarily by creating milder menthol brands, thereby easing smoking initiation. Menthol brands that have used this strategy have been most successful in attracting youth and young adult smokers and have grown in popularity.

"For decades, tobacco manufacturers have controlled levels of menthol in commercial cigarettes to promote smoking among adolescents and young adults," the authors said. "To protect public health, tobacco products should be federally regulated and additives such as menthol should be included in that regulation." [From: "Tobacco Industry Control of Menthol in Cigarettes and Targeting of Adolescents and Young Adults."].

The American Journal of Public Health is the monthly Journal of the American Public Health Association (APHA), the oldest and most diverse organization of public health professionals in the world. APHA is a leading publisher of books and periodicals promoting sound scientific standards, action programs and public policy to enhance health.

American Journal of Public Health