Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27705, United States.
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27705, United States.
Drug Alcohol Depend. 2022 Sep 1;238:109580. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2022.109580. Epub 2022 Jul 25.
Half of young adults who smoke use menthol cigarettes, which is associated with continued smoking and greater nicotine dependence. Additionally, early subjective reactions to cigarettes predict future use. Menthol may blunt the sensory effects of nicotine. We investigated the moderating role of menthol on subjective reactions to, and choice of varied nicotine content cigarettes in young adults who smoke infrequently.
In three counterbalanced, double-blinded sessions, young adults who smoke ≤ 15 days/month smoked fixed doses from very low (VLNC), intermediate (INC), and normal (NNC) nicotine content cigarettes, which were menthol or non-menthol depending on preference. Participants chose their preferred cigarette in a final session. Positive and negative subjective reactions were measured in each session. ANOVA tests investigated the relationship between menthol preference, nicotine content, and subjective reactions.
Participants (N = 87) were 18-25 years old and reported smoking 15.2 cigarettes per month over 8 days (35 % menthol). Non-menthol preferring participants had increased negative reactions with greater nicotine content (F(1, 55)= 10.76, p < .001); menthol preferring participants did not. Choice of higher nicotine cigarettes was associated with having reported a greater difference in positive reactions to NNC and VLNC for non-menthol preferring participants (F(1, 55)= 12.72, p < .001) but not for menthol preferring participants.
Young adults who smoke infrequently are a priority tobacco control population given their high risk of transitioning to daily smoking. Results from this study in the form of subjective reactions indicate that a menthol ban is required for a nicotine reduction standard to be maximally effective in this vulnerable group.
一半的年轻烟民吸食薄荷烟，这与持续吸烟和尼古丁依赖程度增加有关。此外，吸烟初期的主观反应也能预测未来的使用情况。薄荷醇可能会削弱尼古丁的感官效应。我们研究了薄荷醇对吸烟频率较低的年轻烟民对不同尼古丁含量香烟的主观反应和选择的调节作用。
在三个相互对照的、双盲的实验中，吸烟频率≤15 天/月的年轻烟民吸食固定剂量的极低尼古丁含量（VLNC）、中尼古丁含量（INC）和正常尼古丁含量（NNC）香烟，这些香烟的薄荷醇含量取决于个人喜好，分为薄荷醇和非薄荷醇两种。参与者在最后一个实验中选择他们喜欢的香烟。在每个实验中都测量了积极和消极的主观反应。方差分析（ANOVA）检验了薄荷醇偏好、尼古丁含量和主观反应之间的关系。
参与者（N=87）年龄在 18-25 岁之间，报告在 8 天内吸烟 15.2 支（35%为薄荷醇）。非薄荷醇偏好者随着尼古丁含量的增加，负面反应也会增加（F(1, 55)=10.76，p<.001）；而薄荷醇偏好者则没有。选择尼古丁含量更高的香烟与非薄荷醇偏好者报告的 NNC 和 VLNC 之间的积极反应差异更大有关（F(1, 55)=12.72，p<.001），但与薄荷醇偏好者无关。
鉴于这群年轻烟民过渡到每天吸烟的风险较高，因此他们是烟草控制的重点人群。这项研究从主观反应的角度得出的结果表明，为了使尼古丁减少标准在这个脆弱群体中发挥最大效果，需要禁止薄荷醇。
