142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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306231
Once a menthol smoker, always a menthol smoker? Results from The CARDIA longitudinal study, 1985–2011

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Monday, November 17, 2014 : 11:30 AM - 11:50 AM

Ralph Caraballo, PhD, MPH , Office on Smoking and Health, CDC, Atlanta, GA
Judy Kruger, PhD , Office on Smoking and Health, CDC, Atlanta, GA
Reto Auer, PhD , Epidemiology & Biostatistics, UCSF, San Francisco
Kat Asman, MS , RTI Atlanta, RTI, Atlanta
Rachel Widome, PhD , Epidemiology & Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Brian Hitsman, PhD , School od Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL
Catarina Kiefe, PhD , Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Medical School, MA
David Jacobs, PhD , Epidemiology and Community Health, Universdity of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Mark Pletcher, MD MPH , Epidemiology & Biostatistics, UCSF, San Francisco, CA
Linda Pederson, PhD , Independent, McKing Consulting, Atlanta, GA
Background: Public health concerns related to menthol cigarettes include that they may promote smoking initiation and prevent cessation.  It is well documented that among smokers, African Americans, youth, females, and people with lower education have a higher prevalence of menthol cigarette use than their counterparts. However, not much is known about lifetime course of menthol cigarettes use. This study adds 10 years of follow-up to a previous examination of menthol cigarettes in CARDIA. 

Methods: Using data from CARDIA, a community-based prospective cohort of young adults at baseline, we analyzed data in 2,028 smokers who provided cigarette brand information. The study assessed at each of its 8 exams if the current cigarette brand smoked was menthol or non-menthol. We plan to also determine if menthol cigarette use predicts quitting and relapse.

Results: A majority of smokers exclusively smoked either menthol or non-menthol cigarettes over the assessed 25 year period; approximately 13% switched types at some point. Among those who switched, 67% switched from a menthol to non-menthol brand while 33% switched from a non-menthol to menthol brand. Among smokers, smoking a menthol brand was highly associated with race (80% of African-Americans always smoked menthol) and education (64% with ≤ high school education always smoked menthol), but not age.

Conclusion: Switching from one type (menthol or non-menthol) of cigarette brand to another was rare among young and middle age adults in this cohort. Better understanding of switching patterns may inform smoking cessation efforts.

Learning Areas:

Basic medical science applied in public health
Epidemiology

Learning Objectives:
Discuss likely scenario if menthol cigarettes are ban in the U.S. Compare switching from one type of cigarettes (menthol or non-menthol) to another Assess likelihood of quitting and relapse by type of cigarettes smoked

Keyword(s): Tobacco Use, Public Health Research

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have experience with the subject on menthol cigarette use. I presented at the TPSAC expert panel on the subject in 2010. I have 18 years of experience in tobacco control. I came with the idea for this abstract and we plan to write a manuscript and to submit it to NTR.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.