Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31204787›Full record

SynthesisNicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco2020

Use of Mentholated Cigarettes and Likelihood of Smoking Cessation in the United States: A Meta-Analysis.

Philip H Smith, Biruktawit Assefa, Simranpreet Kainth, Kaliris Y Salas-Ramirez, Sherry A McKee, Gary A Giovino

Open access · bronzeAbstract readMeta-AnalysisReview
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 53 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
53citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
6.0field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

53 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 73 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Biomarkers of Nicotine and Tobacco Carcinogen Exposure in Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Black Adults Receiving a Brief Smoking Reduction Intervention.Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology · 2025
    Trial
  4. Trial
  5. Trial
  6. Manipulation of Menthol and Nicotine Content in Cigarettes: Effects on Smoking Behavior and Toxicant Exposure in Women Menthol Smokers.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2023
    Trial
  7. Trial
  8. Effect on Tobacco Use and Subjective Measures of Including E-cigarettes in a Simulated Ban of Menthol in Combustible Cigarettes.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2022
    Trial
  9. Effects on Smoking Behavior of Switching Menthol Smokers to Non-menthol Cigarettes.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2021
    Trial
  10. Trial
  11. Trial
  12. Article
  13. No Smoker Left Behind: Evaluation of a Population-Based, Opt-Out Smoking Cessation Program for Patients With Cancer Who Smoke.Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology · 2026
    Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. 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 · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Philip H SmithDepartment of Kinesiology and Health, Miami University, Oxford, OH.
Biruktawit AssefaDepartment of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.
Simranpreet KainthCity University of New York School of Medicine, New York, NY.
Kaliris Y Salas-RamirezCity University of New York School of Medicine, New York, NY.
Sherry A McKeeDepartment of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.
Gary A GiovinoCommunity Health and Health Behavior, School of Public Health and Health Professions, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY.
City University of New York · USYale University · USUniversity at Buffalo, State University of New York · US

Funding

Yale Clinical and Translational Science Award (U Component)UL1TR001863 · NCATS · YALE UNIVERSITY · PI John H. Krystal, LUCILA OHNO-MACHADO · 2016 to 2026
$102.9M
Yale-SCORE Resource Support CoreU54AA027989 · NIAAA · YALE UNIVERSITY · PI Ralitza Gueorguieva · 2020 to 2026
$13.0M
Yale BIRCWH Scholar Program on Women's Health and Addictive BehaviorsK12DA031050 · NIDA · YALE UNIVERSITY · PI MAZURE, CAROLYN M. · 2010 to 2014
$2.5M
The TREND Partnership: Translational Research Education and Training to Eliminate Tobacco Disparities (1/2)P20CA192993 · NCI · CITY COLLEGE OF NEW YORK · PI SHEFFER, CHRISTINE ELIZABETH · 2014 to 2017
$766k
NCATS NIH HHS UL1 TR001863NCI NIH HHS P20 CA192993NIAAA NIH HHS U54 AA027989NIDA NIH HHS K12 DA031050
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionPrevious qualitative reviews have summarized evidence of an association between menthol cigarette use and likelihood of smoking cessation. The objective of this meta-analysis was to provide a quantitative summary of effect sizes, their variability, and factors related to the variability in effect size for the association between menthol use and likelihood of smoking cessation.

methodsWe systematically searched Medline, PsycINFO, and Embase for prospective and cross-sectional studies of the association between menthol use and smoking cessation. We analyzed data with random effects meta-analyses and meta-regression.

resultsOur review identified 22 reports from 19 studies of the association between menthol use and cessation. All identified study samples included only US smokers, with one exception that included both Canadian and US smokers. Our overall model did not demonstrate a significant association between menthol use and cessation; however, menthol users were significantly less likely to quit among blacks/African American smokers (odds ratio = 0.88).

conclusionsAmong blacks/African Americans predominantly in the US menthol users have approximately 12% lower odds of smoking cessation compared to non-menthol users. This difference is likely the result of the tobacco industry's ongoing marketing influence on the black/African American Community, suggesting that a menthol ban may have a unique public health benefit for black/African American smokers by encouraging quitting behavior. IMPLICATIONS: This study adds a quantitative summary of the association between menthol cigarette use and smoking cessation in the United States. Findings of an association with lower likelihood of cessation among black/African American smokers, likely resulting from the tobacco industry's marketing influence, support the ban of menthol flavoring as part of a comprehensive tobacco control effort to increase cessation among black/African American smokers.

Indexed as

Black or African AmericanHumansMentholPrevalenceSmokingSmoking CessationTobacco ProductsUnited StatesMenthol

Identifiers

PMID31204787
PMCPMC7161928
OpenAlexW2951405308

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.