Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35831050›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2022

Behavioural intentions in response to a potential menthol cigarette sales ban: a survey examining smokers in Washington, DC public housing.

Craig T Dearfield, Kimberly Horn, Ian Crandell, Debra H Bernat

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.8field-weighted citation impact, top 29% 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

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. The Impact of Menthol Cigarette Bans: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2025
    Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Review
  5. Selective Reduction of Socioeconomic Disparities in the Experimental Tobacco Marketplace: Effects of Cigarette and E-cigarette Flavor Restrictions.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2024
    Article
  6. 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

4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Craig T DearfieldEpidemiology, The George Washington University Milken Institute of Public Health, Washington, District of Columbia, USA cdearfield@gwu.edu.ORCID 0000-0002-3237-8978
Kimberly HornDepartment of Population Health Sciences, Virginia Tech-Carilion Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, Roanoke, Virginia, USA.
Ian CrandellDepartment of Statistics, Center for Biostatistics and Health Data Science, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Roanoke, Virginia, USA.
Debra H BernatEpidemiology, The George Washington University Milken Institute of Public Health, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
Milken Institute · USBiomedical Research Institute · USVirginia Tech · US

Funding

Effect of the Housing and Urban Development’s Smokefree Public Housing Rule on Air Quality and Health in the District of ColumbiaR01CA226074 · NCI · GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI BERNAT, DEBRA H, HORN, KIMBERLY A · 2019 to 2021
$2.1M
NCI NIH HHS R01 CA226074
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesLocal, national and international policies are being proposed to ban the sale of menthol-flavoured tobacco products. With more bans being implemented, it is increasingly important to understand reactions to these bans among smokers of low socioeconomic status. This study examined public housing residents' behavioural intentions if menthol-flavoured cigarettes were no longer sold.

setting15 District of Columbia Housing Authority properties between March 2019 and March 2021.

participants221 District of Columbia Housing Authority residents ages 18-80 years who reported smoking menthol cigarettes (83.3% African-American/black). PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOMES: Cigarette quitting and switching intentions due to a hypothetical menthol-flavoured cigarette sales ban.

resultsNearly one-half (48.0%) of residents said they intended to quit cigarette use if menthol-flavoured products were no longer sold, while 27.2% were unsure if they would quit, and 24.9% reported they would not quit. Older residents (OR 0.94 per year, 95% CI 0.91 to 0.97), senior/disabled building versus family building residents (OR 0.50, 95% CI 0.25 to 0.97), those who smoked within 30 min of waking (OR 0.48, 95% CI 0.23 to 0.98) and daily smokers (OR 0.42, 95% CI 0.21 to 0.84) had lower odds of reporting quit intentions associated with a menthol ban. Of those not intending to quit, 40.7% reported they would switch to non-menthol cigarettes, 20.4% to another non-menthol product, 13.0% to menthol e-cigarettes and 20.4% to another menthol product.

conclusionsResults suggest banning the sale of menthol-flavoured products has the potential to impact cigarette smoking cessation. Nearly three-quarters of smokers in public housing indicated a possibility of quitting smoking because of a menthol cigarette ban. Bans that include all flavours in all tobacco products may be most effective for facilitating overall tobacco cessation.

Indexed as

Electronic Nicotine Delivery SystemsSmoking CessationTobacco ProductsAdolescentAdultAgedAged, 80 and overDistrict of ColumbiaFlavoring AgentsHumansIntentionMentholMiddle AgedPublic HousingSmokersYoung AdultFlavoring AgentsMentholepidemiologyhealth policypublic health

Identifiers

PMID35831050
PMCPMC9280868
OpenAlexW4285098655

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
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.