Sources: Menthol and Nicotine Cessation
Data sources for the fact sheet: Menthol & Nicotine Cessation
This page provides data and information sources for the coalition's fact sheet titled: Menthol & Nicotine Cessation. Mentholated tobacco products make it easier to start and harder to quit.
The Problem
Menthol makes it easier to start using nicotine products.
It reduces the harshness of smoking or vaping by creating a cooling effect on the mouth and throat.
Menthol suppresses the cough reflex.
People who smoke and vape can inhale more deeply, drawing in more nicotine and more toxic chemicals from the product.
Menthol enhances the addictiveness of nicotine.
Menthol interacts with the same brain receptors that nicotine does. Menthol increases the number of nicotine receptors in the brain and increases the intensity of nicotine withdrawal.
Sources:
FDA Scientific Review of Effects of Menthol in Cigarettes on Tobacco Addiction: 1980-2021
American Thoracic Society Patient Education: What is Menthol?
"Menthol also interacts with nicotine in the brain to enhance the addictiveness of nicotine, making it harder for people to quit smoking" - Rachel Grana Mayne, Ph.D., a program director in NCI's Tobacco Control Research Branch." NIH: National Cancer Institute Blog, June 2022
About 100,000 Washingtonians who smoke use menthol cigarettes.
Source: CDC Menthol Facts - Washington WA Nov. 2023.
Most people who smoke are trying to quit.
Studies show people who use menthol need more quit attempts.
Sources:
CDC: Smoking Cessation Fast Facts
Levy DT et al. Quit Attempts and Quit Rates Among Menthol and Nonmenthol Smokers in the United States. American Journal of Public Health. 2011.
The Tobacco Industry Manipulates with Menthol
The industry has aggressively marketed more addictive menthol tobacco products to people of color and lower income people for decades, especially targeting the Black community.
Industry targeting has included:
- Disproportionate advertising of menthol products to people of color and people with lower incomes.
- Higher density of tobacco retailers in communities of color than in white neighborhoods.
- Lower-priced products at retail locations in areas with higher proportions of people of color.
- Sponsoring cultural events, like Pride, hip hop, jazz, and more.
Sources:
Stopping Menthol, Saving Lives: Ending Big Tobacco’s Predatory Marketing To Black Communities” report from multiple organizations. Feb. 2021.
CDC: Health Disparities Related to Commercial Tobacco and Advancing Health Equity
85% of Black people who smoke use menthol cigarettes
50% of teens aged 12-17 who smoke use menthol cigarettes
Source: Data from the 2018 National Survey on Drug Use & Health in Delnevo et al. "Banning Menthol Cigarettes: A Social Justice Issue Long Overdue” Nicotine and Tobacco Research. 2020.
Menthol cigarette use is also higher among people who are American Indian/Alaskan Native, Asian, Latine, LGBTQ, Pacific Islander, Native Hawaiian, women, lower income, and those with mental health conditions.
Sources:
CDC Menthol Facts - Washington WA Nov. 2023.
WA State survey data, 2021-2022. Responses to the question: “Currently, when you smoke cigarettes, do you usually smoke menthol cigarettes?” by race/ethnicity:
- White: 19.6% (95% CI: 17.6%-21.9%)
- Black or African American: 56.5% (95% CI: 44.5%-67.7%)
- American Indian/Alaska Native: 43.1% (95% CI: 28.6%-59.0%)
- Asian: 26.2% (95% CI: 16.9%-38.2%)
- Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander: 49.4% (95% CI: 24.3%-74.8%)
- Hispanic: 28.9% (95% CI: 21.9%-37.2%)
Source: 2021 & 2022 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey. Analysis by WA State Department of Health that combined 2021 and 2022 data on this question. CI means confidence interval.
Learn more about disparities in commercial tobacco use on our Addressing Disparities page.
The Solution
Prohibit the sale of menthol and all flavored commercial tobacco or nicotine products.
Learn more on our Eliminate Flavors page.
Massachusetts, California, and over 180 U.S. municipalities already prohibit the sale of menthol cigarettes and other flavored tobacco products.
Learn about Policies to End the Sale of Flavored Tobacco
Support people who use nicotine products by improving access to equitable cessation services.
See our Equitable Cessation Services Statement
Banning menthol cigarettes now would save up to 654,000 American lives over the next 40 years, including the lives of 255,000 Black Americans.
Source: Issabakhsh et al. Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center in the Tobacco Control journal June 2022
7,400 additional adults in Washington who smoke would quit smoking if menthol cigarettes were no longer available.
Source: CDC Menthol Facts - Washington WA Nov. 2023.