Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
Division of Epidemiology, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
J Natl Cancer Inst. 2022 Jul 11;114(7):953-958. doi: 10.1093/jnci/djac070.
A ban on the sale of menthol cigarettes in the United States is currently under consideration. A justification is that menthol cigarettes are harder to quit, particularly for African American smokers who use menthols much more frequently than White smokers, but epidemiologic data are limited.
In a cohort of 16 425 mostly low-income African American and White current cigarette smokers enrolled during 2002-2009, we computed smoking quit and reuptake rates at 3 follow-ups conducted means of 4.6, 7.7, and 11 years after entry. Generalized estimation equations were used to compute odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for quitting and resuming smoking for menthol vs nonmenthol smokers adjusted for race, age, education, income, and smoking pack-years.
Crude annual quit rates among current smokers were 4.3% for menthol and 4.5% for nonmenthol smokers, with adjusted odds ratios of quitting for menthol vs nonmenthol smokers of 1.01 (95% CI = 0.91 to 1.11) overall, 0.99 (95% CI = 0.87 to 1.12) among African American smokers, and 1.02 (95% CI = 0.88 to 1.20) among White smokers. Crude annual smoking reuptake rates were somewhat higher among menthol smokers (8.4%) than nonmenthol smokers (7.1%), with an adjusted odds ratio of 1.19 (95% CI = 0.97 to 1.47), but net quit rates remained similar (OR = 1.01, 95% CI = 0.90 to 1.13 overall; OR = 1.00, 95% CI = 0.86 to 1.15 among African American participants; and OR = 1.04, 95% CI = 0.87 to 1.24 among White participants).
This large-scale prospective survey revealed similar quit rates among menthol and nonmenthol smokers. Results contribute to policy discussions, especially if, as a meta-analysis suggests, lung cancer risk is higher for nonmenthol smokers and a ban leads menthol smokers to switch to nonmenthol cigarettes.
美国目前正在考虑禁止销售薄荷醇香烟。其理由是薄荷醇香烟更难戒掉，尤其是对于经常使用薄荷醇的非裔美国吸烟者，而非裔美国吸烟者使用薄荷醇的频率比白人吸烟者高得多，但流行病学数据有限。
在 2002-2009 年间招募的一个主要由低收入非裔美国人和白人当前吸烟者组成的队列中，我们在随访 3 次时计算了戒烟和重新吸烟的比率，随访时间分别为入组后 4.6、7.7 和 11 年。使用广义估计方程计算了按种族、年龄、教育程度、收入和吸烟包年数调整后的薄荷醇与非薄荷醇吸烟者戒烟和重新吸烟的比值比（OR）和 95%置信区间（CI）。
当前吸烟者的粗年化戒烟率分别为薄荷醇组 4.3%和非薄荷醇组 4.5%，薄荷醇与非薄荷醇吸烟者的调整后 OR 分别为 1.01（95%CI=0.91-1.11）、0.99（95%CI=0.87-1.12），非洲裔美国吸烟者为 1.02（95%CI=0.88-1.20），白人为 1.02（95%CI=0.88-1.20）。薄荷醇吸烟者的粗年化重新吸烟率（8.4%）略高于非薄荷醇吸烟者（7.1%），调整后 OR 为 1.19（95%CI=0.97-1.47），但净戒烟率相似（OR=1.01，95%CI=0.90-1.13 整体；OR=1.00，95%CI=0.86-1.15 非洲裔美国参与者；OR=1.04，95%CI=0.87-1.24 白人参与者）。
这项大规模的前瞻性调查显示，薄荷醇和非薄荷醇吸烟者的戒烟率相似。研究结果有助于政策讨论，特别是如果像荟萃分析表明的那样，非薄荷醇吸烟者患肺癌的风险更高，而且禁令导致薄荷醇吸烟者转而吸食非薄荷醇香烟。
