Adolescent menthol cigarette use and risk of nicotine dependence: Findings from the national Population Assessment on Tobacco and Health (PATH) study

• Published in: Drug and alcohol dependence 2020-01, Vol.206, p.107715-107715, Article 107715
• Main Authors: Cwalina, Sam N., Majmundar, Anuja, Unger, Jennifer B., Barrington-Trimis, Jessica L., Pentz, Mary Ann
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescents; Automaticity; Automation; Cigarette smoking; Cigarette Smoking - psychology; Cigarettes; Cognitive ability; Craving; Dependence; Drug dependence; Female; Gender; Health Surveys; Humans; Linear Models; Loss of control; Male; Menthol; Menthol - analysis; Negative reinforcement; Nicotine; Nicotine dependence; PATH study; Race; Regression analysis; Regression models; Reinforcement; Risk assessment; Smoke; Smokers - psychology; Smoking; Social environment; Taste; Teenagers; Tobacco; Tobacco Products - analysis; Tobacco smoke; Tobacco Use Disorder - epidemiology; Tobacco Use Disorder - psychology; Tolerance; United States - epidemiology; WISDM; Youth
• ISSN: 0376-8716; 1879-0046
• DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2019.107715

•Approximately half of all past 30-day youth cigarette smokers reported smoking menthol cigarettes.•Menthol smokers reported higher dependence in the areas of craving, affiliative attachment, and tolerance.•There were no significant differences between menthol and non-menthol smokers for remaining dependence constructs. Menthol cigarettes appeal to adolescents because they mask the harsh taste and sensation of tobacco smoke thereby making it easier to inhale the smoke. As a result, menthol cigarette users expose themselves to higher levels of nicotine relative to non-menthol cigarettes and increase their risk for developing nicotine dependence. We examined whether adolescent menthol smokers (vs. non-menthol smokers) reported higher nicotine dependence. Data were from adolescent past 30-day cigarette smokers participating in Wave 2 of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health survey (n = 434). Nicotine dependence was assessed using eight items from the Wisconsin Inventory of Smoking Dependence Motives corresponding to individual subscale constructs. Linear regression models evaluated the association of past 30-day menthol (vs. non-menthol) cigarette use with each dependence outcome in separate models, adjusting for age, gender, race, and other tobacco product use. 49.5% of past 30-day youth cigarette smokers reported smoking menthol cigarettes. In adjusted models, menthol smokers (vs. non-menthol smokers) reported significantly higher nicotine dependence for three constructs: craving (p = 0.005), affiliative attachment (p = 0.005), and tolerance (p = 0.003). No differences for menthol vs. non-menthol smokers were observed for loss of control, negative reinforcement, cognitive enhancement, automaticity, or social environment after correction for multiple comparisons. Findings suggest that menthol cigarette smokers are not just more physically dependent on nicotine but also experience increased emotional attachments to cigarettes compared to their non-menthol smoking peers. Because adolescents are vulnerable to developing nicotine dependence, tobacco control policies that restrict youth access to menthol cigarettes are urgently needed.