ArticleNicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco2015
Are young people's beliefs about menthol cigarettes associated with smoking-related intentions and behaviors?
Article in Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 20 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 29 citations in OpenAlex.
- Menthol cigarettes and the public health standard: a systematic review.BMC public health · 2017Pooled it
- Tobacco package health warnings about product manipulations: an experimental study among Australian adults who smoke.Health promotion international · 2025Trial
- To vape or not to vape? Effects of exposure to conflicting news headlines on beliefs about harms and benefits of electronic cigarette use: Results from a randomized controlled experiment.Preventive medicine · 2017Trial
- The Relative Reinforcing Value of Menthol Among Young Adult Cigarette Smokers: Results From a Behavioral Choice Task.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2025Article
- Prevalence, perceptions and factors associated with menthol cigarette smoking: findings from the ITC Kenya and Zambia Surveys.Tobacco control · 2023Article
- Youth Perspectives on Menthol Sales Restrictions in Minneapolis and Duluth, Minnesota.Health promotion practice · 2023Article
- Influencing adolescents' attitudes towards nicotine products: A systematic review.Nordisk alkohol- & narkotikatidskrift : NAT · 2022Article
- Menthol preference moderates the relationship between cigarette nicotine content choice and reactions in young adults who smoke infrequently.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2022Article
- Australian Smokers' Sensory Experiences and Beliefs Associated with Menthol and Non-Menthol Cigarettes.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Fresher with flavour: young women smokers' constructions and experiences of menthol capsule cigarettes and regular cigarettes.BMC women's health · 2021Article
- Effects of Cigarette Nicotine Content and Menthol Preference on Perceived Health Risks, Subjective Ratings, and Carbon Monoxide Exposure Among Adolescent Smokers.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2019Article
- To "vape" or smoke? Experimental evidence on adult smokers.Economic inquiry · 2019Article
- In Their Own Words: Young Adults' Menthol Cigarette Initiation, Perceptions, Experiences and Regulation Perspectives.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2018Article
- Flavors and Risk: Perceptions of Flavors in Little Cigars and Cigarillos Among U.S. Adults, 2015.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2018Article
- Believability of Cigarette Warnings About Addiction: National Experiments of Adolescents and Adults.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2018Article
- Perceptions of Menthol Cigarettes Among Twitter Users: Content and Sentiment Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2017Article
- Association between menthol-flavoured cigarette smoking and flavoured little cigar and cigarillo use among African-American, Hispanic, and white young and middle-aged adult smokers.Tobacco control · 2016Article
- Association between use of flavoured tobacco products and quit behaviours: findings from a cross-sectional survey of US adult tobacco users.Tobacco control · 2016Article
- Appeal and Impact of Characterizing Flavors on Young Adult Small Cigar Use.Tobacco regulatory science · 2015Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issuedErratum.2015
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
introductionLittle is known about the beliefs that youth and young adults hold about menthol cigarettes or the influence of these beliefs on tobacco use initiation.
methodsOnline cross-sectional surveys with 13- to 17-year-old current nonsmokers (n = 553) and 18- to 25-year-old never (n = 586) and current tobacco users (n = 307) in the United States assessed the association between endorsing each of 9 pro-menthol beliefs and (a) intentions to smoke menthol cigarettes over the next year, (b) current use of menthol cigarettes, (c) intentions to use tobacco in general over the next year, and (d) current use of tobacco products in general.
resultsMenthols were perceived to be less harmful and addictive than nonmenthol cigarettes by between 13% and 23% of respondents. Between 20% and 58% believed that menthols had favorable sensory properties, and 7%-25% believed that menthol smokers were more popular and attractive than nonmenthol smokers. Logistic regression analyses (adjusting for confounders) indicated that, on the whole, those who endorsed pro-menthol beliefs were more likely to intend to use, and to currently use, both menthols and tobacco products in general. For example, respondents who believed that menthol cigarettes were more refreshing in sensation (one of the most frequently endorsed beliefs) were significantly more likely to (a) intend to smoke menthol cigarettes (13- to 17-year-olds, odds ratio [OR] = 2.12, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.03, 4.34; 18- to 25-year olds, OR = 2.62, 95% CI = 1.04, 6.60), (b) currently use menthol cigarettes (18- to 25-year olds, OR = 3.40, 95% CI = 2.20, 5.26), (c) intend to use tobacco (13- to 17-year-olds OR = 1.74, 95% CI = 1.14, 2.65), and (d) currently use tobacco (18- to 25-year olds, OR = 2.06, 95% CI = 1.44, 2.93).
conclusionsYouth and young adults who do not currently smoke and who hold favorable beliefs about menthol cigarettes are at greater risk for beginning to use tobacco products, indicating that the availability of menthol cigarettes may contribute to tobacco use initiation. These findings support recent claims that the elimination of menthol cigarettes would improve public health in the United States.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.