ArticleTobacco control2025
Still 'Cool': tobacco industry responds to state-wide menthol ban with synthetic coolants.
Article in Tobacco control, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 37 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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
37 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 36 citations in OpenAlex.
- 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 · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of 'Ice' flavoured e-cigarettes with synthetic cooling agent WS-23 or menthol on user-reported appeal and sensory attributes.Tobacco control · 2025Trial
- Synthetic cooling agents enhance nicotine reinforcement and mesolimbic dopamine signaling.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Chili Pepper Flavourants in "Heat" and "Unflavoured" Oral Nicotine Pouches Marketed in the United States.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Mapping the flavoring landscape: a comparative analysis of tobacco and related products.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2026Article
- California's prohibition of flavoured tobacco sales and the tobacco industry's attempts to evade it.Tobacco control · 2026Article
- Preflavour and postflavour ban oral nicotine pouches: a chemical, sensory and young adult appeal analysis.Tobacco control · 2026Article
- The policy implementation playbook: a cross-policy taxonomy of post-adoption tobacco industry tactics.Globalization and health · 2026Review
- Declining cigarette sales and shifts in the US cigarette marketplace from 2016 to 2024: Analysis of market scanner sales data in US convenience stores.Preventive medicine reports · 2026Article
- Identification of a Potential Direct-Acting DNA Ethylating Agent Originating from the Synthetic Cooling AgentChemical research in toxicology · 2026Article
- Commentary Paper on Cooling Flavors in Cigarette and Non-Cigarette Tobacco Products.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2026Article
- Recommended self-report measures for use of menthol, mint and cooling-flavoured nicotine and tobacco products.Tobacco control · 2026Article
- Characterising 'Spree Bar': an examination of the popularity, marketing and composition of a vaping device with a nicotine analogue across multiple data streams.Tobacco control · 2026Article
- Comparison of Nicotine and Selected Flavoring Contents Between Tobacco-Free and Tobacco-Containing Oral Pouches.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2026Article
- Artificial Sweeteners in US-Marketed Oral Nicotine Pouch Products: Correlation With Nicotine Contents and Effects on Product Preference.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2026Article
- Effect of packaging with versus without candy-oriented marketing themes on the appeal and sensory attributes of flavoured e-cigarettes.Tobacco control · 2026Article
- From cool to non-cool: California's 'non-menthol' cigarettes in 2025.Tobacco prevention & cessation · 2026Article
- The tip of the iceberg: Profiling cooling agents using computational approaches to inform tobacco regulatory science.PloS one · 2026Article
- Youth and young adult flavour expectancies for new 'non-menthol' cigarettes introduced following California's ban on flavoured tobacco products.Tobacco control · 2025Article
- Absence of Sensory Cooling Activity and Cooling Agents from California's New "Non-Menthol" Cigarettes Marketed in 2025.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
introductionIn December 2022, California (CA) enforced a voter-approved regulation restricting the retail sale of flavoured tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes. Shortly after, new products emerged on the market containing similar blue and green package colours yet with 'non-menthol' descriptors. Using chemical analyses, we measured the content of menthol and 15 other cooling chemicals in Californian cigarettes with 'non-menthol' descriptors and compared concentrations to similar 'menthol'-labelled counterparts available in New York State (NY).
methodsA convenience sample of 10 brands and types of cigarettes in CA were purchased based on package colours suggesting a cooling effect and/or 'non-menthol' descriptors. The exact brand and type of cigarettes (with menthol descriptors) were purchased in NY. Cigarettes from CA were compared with equivalent cigarettes from NY on package design and colours, cigarette physical characteristics and the presence of cooling additives.
resultsMenthol was not detected in any CA cigarette, except for Maverick-green box type, while its presence was confirmed in most NY counterpart products. A synthetic cooling chemical WS-3 was not detected in any NY cigarettes but was detected in four CA brands and types with implied cooling effect, ranging from 1.24±0.04 to 1.97±0.05 mg/cigarette.
conclusionWhile manufacturers have removed menthol descriptors from CA packaging and the menthol ingredient from cigarettes, synthetic cooling chemicals detected in several CA brands suggest that cooling sensory effects may still be sustained. Policymakers must consider both the chemical ingredients themselves and sensory effects in future regulatory approaches.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.