November 29, 2011   The Food and Drug Administration currently is assessing the public health impact of menthol cigarettes. Whether menthol cigarettes pose increased barriers to quitting is a critical issue because previous declines in smoking prevalence have stalled.  As study was conducted to explore whether menthol cigarette smokers are less likely to quit than non-menthol smokers at the population level and whether this relationship differs by race/ethnicity. Results from the cross-sectional analyses found menthol smokers were less likely to have quit smoking (AOR=0.91, 95% CI=0.87, 0.96). Smoking menthol cigarettes is associated with decreased cessation at the population level, and this association is more pronounced among black and Puerto Rican smokers. These findings support the recent calls to ban menthol flavoring in cigarettes.

For More Information:
http://www.tobaccoprogram.org/pdf/Gundersen%2Bmenthol%2Bpaper.pdf