Menthol use and nicotine dependence among US adults, 2001-2006

Previous studies have suggested that menthol may play a role in nicotine addiction and reinforcement as smoking mentholated cigarettes may increase nicotine absorption and the intake of tobacco smoke by-products. Additionally, those who use menthol cigarettes may be less likely to attempt or succeed at quitting than those who smoke non-menthol cigarettes. Through increased understanding of the patterns and use of menthol and non-menthol cigarettes and their relationship to nicotine dependence, it is possible to assist smokers to quit smoking

We used data from the 2001-2006 NHANES, a household survey of the non-institutionalized civilians of the US population. Data were collected on current use of cigarettes, initiation and duration of smoking among menthol and non-menthol cigarette smokers. Nicotine dependence levels were determined using the Heaviness to Smoke index, which consists of two questions; time after waking (first cigarette use), and the amount of cigarettes smoked per day.

Preliminary unadjusted rates show that smoking menthol cigarettes was highest among African Americans (77.8%) when compared to whites (19.0%) and Mexican Americans (9.4%). Additional results show that more than 50% of menthol and non-menthol smokers smoked their first cigarette within the first hour upon wakening. Finally, nicotine dependence results suggest that there was no difference in dependence levels between menthol (44.5%) and non-menthol users (41.2%). Preliminary results suggest that menthol use varies among various demographic groups and that there is no difference of addictiveness between menthol and non-menthol users. Further monitoring of menthol and non-menthol cigarette use is needed to help smokers quit.