Oliveira da Silva Andre Luiz, Lempert Lauren K, Glantz Stanton A
Tobacco Control Office, Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency, Rio de Janeiro - Brazil; Center for Tobacco Control Research & Education, University of California, San Francisco - USA.
Center for Tobacco Control Research & Education, University of California, San Francisco - USA.
Drug Alcohol Depend. 2024 Aug 1;261:111346. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2024.111346. Epub 2024 May 29.
In addition to imparting flavor, menthol in menthol-flavored cigarettes enhances nicotine addiction and increases experimentation, initiation, and progression to regular smoking. Menthol can be added to cigarettes at perceptible levels (so-called flavored cigarettes or characterized flavored cigarettes) or non-perceptible levels (subliminal). Our objective was to understand the reasons that tobacco companies use subliminal menthol.
We identified previously secret internal tobacco company documents dated 1955-2012 in the Truth Tobacco Industry Documents archive on menthol at subliminal levels.
Beginning in at least the 1950s, tobacco companies used subliminal menthol to compensate the flavor loss caused by filters, reduce smoke harshness, reduce dryness, and increase smoke coolness. Varying menthol concentrations were considered to help convert people who smoke non-menthol to menthol brands, possibly because people who use menthol cigarettes have more harship quitting than people who use non-menthol cigarettes.
Menthol is an important additive beyond its function as a "characterizing flavor." Tobacco companies use menthol in "non-menthol" cigarettes at subliminal (non-perceptible by the people who smoke cigarettes) levels to improve taste, make them easier to smoke and facilitate initiation, and possibly convert people who smoke non-menthol cigarettes to menthol cigarettes.
除了赋予风味外，薄荷醇口味香烟中的薄荷醇还会增强尼古丁成瘾性，并增加尝试吸烟、开始吸烟以及发展为经常吸烟的可能性。薄荷醇可以以可察觉的水平添加到香烟中（所谓的调味香烟或特色调味香烟），也可以以不可察觉的水平添加（阈下水平）。我们的目标是了解烟草公司使用阈下水平薄荷醇的原因。
我们在“真相烟草行业文件”档案中查找了1955年至2012年期间烟草公司有关阈下水平薄荷醇的先前秘密内部文件。
至少从20世纪50年代开始，烟草公司使用阈下水平的薄荷醇来弥补过滤嘴造成的风味损失、降低烟雾刺激性、减少干燥感并增加烟雾凉爽感。不同的薄荷醇浓度被认为有助于将吸非薄荷醇香烟的人转变为吸薄荷醇品牌香烟的人，这可能是因为吸薄荷醇香烟的人比吸非薄荷醇香烟的人更难戒烟。
薄荷醇除了作为“特色风味”发挥作用外，还是一种重要的添加剂。烟草公司在“非薄荷醇”香烟中使用阈下水平（吸烟者无法察觉）的薄荷醇来改善口感，使其更易于吸食并促进开始吸烟，还可能将吸非薄荷醇香烟的人转变为吸薄荷醇香烟的人。
