摘要：Objectives. We compared quit attempts and quit rates among menthol and nonmenthol cigarette smokers in the United States. Methods. We used data from the 2003 and 2006–2007 waves of the large, nationally representative Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey with control for state-level tobacco control spending, prices, and smoke-free air laws. We estimated mean prevalence, quit rates, and multivariate logistic regression equations by using self-respondent weights for menthol and nonmenthol smokers. Results. In 2003 and 2007, 70% of smokers smoked nonmenthol cigarettes, 26% smoked menthol cigarettes, and 4% had no preference. Quit attempts were 4.3% higher in 2003 and 8.8% higher in 2007 among menthol than nonmenthol smokers. The likelihood of quitting was 3.5% lower for quitting in the past year and 6% lower for quitting in the past 5 years in menthol compared with nonmenthol smokers. Quit success in the past 5 years was further eroded among menthol-smoking Blacks and young adults. Conclusions. Menthol smokers are more likely to make quit attempts, but are less successful at staying quit. The creation of menthol preference through marketing may reduce quit success. On June 22, 2009, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act was signed into law, granting the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to regulate tobacco products by establishing the Center for Tobacco Products (CTP). As one of the first activities of the CTP, the FDA will review evidence on the impact of menthol in cigarettes on the public health to determine whether to recommend removal of mentholated cigarettes from the US market. Regarding the process of making decisions for a proposed ban on menthol in cigarettes, the act specifies that scientific evidence be considered with a broad population-based standard rather than a narrow individual standard. Specifically, the CTP must consider (1) the risks and benefits to the population as a whole, including users and nonusers of tobacco products, (2) the increased or decreased likelihood that existing users of tobacco products will stop using such products, and (3) the increased or decreased likelihood that those who do not use tobacco products will start using such products. 1 In 2008, more than one third (33.9%) of past-month smokers aged 12 years and older reported smoking menthol cigarettes 2 ; this rate equates to more than 10 million menthol smokers in the United States. 3 The prevalence of menthol cigarette use is highest among Black smokers (82.6%) and young smokers (44.8%) 2 —2 groups that have been the target of menthol cigarette marketing by the tobacco industry. 4 – 6 Studies of youths indicate that menthol flavoring affects smoking initiation, with higher proportions of recent initiates smoking mentholated cigarettes compared with those who have been smoking more than 1 year, 2 , 7 and that middle-school smokers are more likely to smoke menthol cigarettes than are high-school smokers. 7 Recent research also suggests that smoking menthol cigarettes negatively influences smoking cessation among adults. One randomized controlled study showed no difference in 7-day point prevalence abstinence between menthol and nonmenthol smokers at 6 months, 8 but 2 other studies 9 , 10 reported reduced cessation among menthol smokers, though results were not consistent across all follow-up time points. Of 5 population studies examining differences in smoking cessation by menthol cigarette use, 11 – 15 the 2 more recent studies reported significantly lower quit rates among menthol smokers compared with nonmenthol smokers at follow-up. 13 , 15 Gandhi et al. 15 and Gundersen et al. 13 also highlighted reduced cessation among Black and Latino menthol smokers. Few studies have explored the impact of menthol cigarette use on smoking cessation in large population-based studies. We used a large, recent national- and state-representative data set to examine quit rates among menthol and nonmenthol cigarette smokers. Unlike previous population studies, we explicitly considered the role of quit attempts and also controlled for the state tobacco control policies.
