Objectives: Menthol is an organic compound synthesized or naturally obtained from peppermint or other mint oils and once added to cigarettes, is believed to have caused extra adverse health consequences (Kolawole S. Okuyemi 2004) compared with non-menthol cigarettes. This review has multi-purposes: First, to review and summarize the causes of African Americans’ high preference over menthol cigarettes; Second, to review smoking cessation studies and determine the association between menthol cigarettes and reduced quitting rates for African American smokers; Third, to gather information of evidence-based interventions for menthol cigarette smoking cessation.
Methods: This article reviewed 16 journal articles through PubMed search using the following key words: menthol cigarette, smoking cessation, African American. And only one Chinese article was found by searching the key word “薄荷?” in CNKI Chinese database. Further search was done by using Google search engine and got 11 electronic articles or webpages for this topic. According to the objectives of this article, 3 journal papers were reviewed for examining the causes of African American smokers’ high preference over menthol cigarettes; 8 journal papers were reviewed for determining the association between menthol cigarettes and reduced quitting rates for African American smokers. In this section, the inclusion criteria include: age (18-65); gender (male, female); study design (cohort, cross-sectional, RCT). At last, 5 journal papers and 5 electronic resources including news were reviewed to gain an up-to-date insight for possible interventions of menthol cigarette smoking.
Results: The leading causes for African American smokers’ high preference over menthol cigarettes include: like the minty/cool flavor; perceive menthol cigarette as having medicinal effects; menthol smokers’ influences from one’s social network; tobacco companies’ tailored marketing strategies. Overall, there were lower quitting rates for menthol cigarette smokers compared to non-menthol cigarette smokers at least among African American smokers. For menthol cigarettes and smoking cessation among African American smokers, 4 studies got significant results. For menthol cigarette and non-menthol cigarette smoking cessation among African American smokers: study 1 (TABLE 2), 6 weeks abstinence rate 28.3% vs. 41.5%, p=0.006; study 2 (TABLE 2), 4 weeks abstinence OR=0.32, 95% CI [0.16, 0.62], p<0.05, 6 months abstinence OR=0.48, 95% CI [0.25, 0.9], p<0.05; study 3 (TABLE 2), 6 months abstinence OR=0.23, 95% CI [0.17, 0.31], p<0.05. Study 4 (TABLE 2) compared African menthol cigarette smokers to Whites non-menthol cigarette smokers, OR=0.72, 95% CI [0.53, 0.97], p=0.031. For another 4 studies, they got non-significant results but still revealed such an association.
Conclusions: Causes for African American smokers’ high preference over menthol cigarettes were identified as: tailored marketing strategies; physical properties of menthol cigarette (taste, smell); and demographic/social/psychological/cultural/attitudinal causes. There were significantly lower quitting rates for menthol cigarette smokers compared to non-menthol cigarette smokers at least among African American smokers. For menthol cigarette smoking cessation interventions, whether or not a ban on menthol would be implemented or not, comprehensive programs that include educational program, clinical menthol cigarette smoking cessation aids, taxation for price control, and smoke free and related regulations are needed. At last, China should learn experiences from the US regarding analysis of preference and possible clinical, educational, and policy interventions for menthol cigarette smoking cessation and prevention. / published_or_final_version / Medicine / Master / Master of Public Health
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:HKU/oai:hub.hku.hk:10722/174430 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | 刘哲, Liu, Zhe, Jerome. |
| Publisher | The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) |
| Source Sets | Hong Kong University Theses |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | PG_Thesis |
| Source | http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B47560290 |
| Rights | The author retains all proprietary rights, (such as patent rights) and the right to use in future works., Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License |
| Relation | HKU Theses Online (HKUTO) |
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