Researchers led by Virginia Tech have found that if menthol cigarettes are restricted, smokers may be more likely to turn to healthier alternatives, such as nicotine gum and lozenges, potentially improving health outcomes.
Researchers have discovered promising evidence that restrictions on menthol cigarettes could encourage smokers to switch to healthier alternatives, such as nicotine gum and lozenges. The study, recently published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, is poised to have significant public health implications.
A team led by Roberta Freitas-Lemos, an assistant professor at Virginia Tech’s Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, conducted an in-depth analysis of smokers’ preferences for menthol-flavored cigarettes and e-cigarettes and examined how changes in filter ventilation options affected their purchasing decisions.
“We were trying to understand how different flavor policies interact, the role of cigarette filter ventilation and how different types of smokers would respond to those policies,” Freitas-Lemos said in a news release. “We wanted to understand the effect of restrictions on purchases.”
The researchers analyzed data from 172 adult smokers — 76 who smoked menthol and 96 who did not — as well as 91 participants who used multiple tobacco products. All the participants smoked a minimum of 10 cigarettes daily and had smoked at least 100 cigarettes over their lifetime.
The participants made trial purchases using the Experimental Tobacco Marketplace, an innovative platform developed by addiction recovery research expert Warren Bickel. The marketplace simulated various conditions by adjusting prices and the availability of tobacco and nicotine products, including replacement therapies tailored to participants’ preferences.
The study revealed that when menthol cigarettes were unavailable, smokers who preferred menthol cigarettes showed a significant willingness to switch to nicotine replacement therapies, such as nicotine gum. Interestingly, the study also found that menthol smokers were less likely to switch to e-cigarettes when menthol e-cigarettes were also restricted.
“Cigarettes with ventilation are milder and people think they are less harmful, but it is a false perception,” added Freitas-Lemos.
Higher rates of lung adenocarcinoma had been linked to people who smoke ventilated cigarettes in a previous study.
The researchers concluded that restricting menthol cigarettes might improve health outcomes by driving smokers away from harmful products and toward safer alternatives.
Freitas-Lemos highlighted the importance of regulatory policies that reduce the availability of flavored tobacco products and increase access to nicotine replacement therapies.
“I think the most important conclusion from this study is that we can improve health outcomes by emphasizing policies that reduce sales of flavored products and increase accessibility of nicotine replacement therapies,” Freitas-Lemos added.
While the study provides valuable insights, Freitas-Lemos notes that more research is needed to fully understand the relationship between cigarette filter ventilation and smoking behavior. This could further inform how regulatory policies can effectively reduce the harm caused by smoking.
This study marks a significant step forward in tobacco control research, offering hope that strategic policies could lead to better health outcomes for millions of smokers.