Menthol's potential effects on nicotine dependence: a tobacco industry perspective.

ObjectiveTo examine what the tobacco industry knows about the potential effects menthol may have on nicotine dependence.MethodsA snowball strategy was used to systematically search the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/) between 22 February and 29 April, 2010. Of the approximately 11 million documents available in the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library, the iterative searches returned tens of thousands of results. We qualitatively analysed a final collection of 309 documents relevant the effects of menthol on nicotine dependence.ResultsThe tobacco industry knows that menthol overrides the harsh taste of tobacco and alleviates nicotine's irritating effects, synergistically interacts with nicotine, stimulates the trigeminal nerve to elicit a 'liking' response for a tobacco product, and makes low tar, low nicotine tobacco products more acceptable to smokers than non-mentholated low delivery products.ConclusionMenthol is not only used in cigarettes as a flavour additive; tobacco companies know that menthol also has sensory effects and interacts with nicotine to produce tobacco products that are easier to smoke, thereby making it easier to expose smokers, especially those who are new and uninitiated, to the addictive power of nicotine

Menthol sensory qualities and smoking topography: a review of tobacco industry documents.

ObjectiveTo determine what the tobacco industry knew about the potential effects of menthol on smoking topography-how a person smokes a cigarette.MethodsA snowball strategy was used to systematically search the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu) between 1 June 2010 and 9 August 2010. We qualitatively analysed a final collection of 252 documents related to menthol and smoking topography.ResultsThe tobacco industry knew that menthol has cooling, anaesthetic and analgesic properties that moderate the harshness and irritation of tobacco. Owing to its physiological effects, menthol contributes to the sensory qualities of the smoke and affects smoking topography and cigarette preference.ConclusionOur review of industry studies suggests that the amount of menthol in a cigarette is associated with how the cigarette is smoked and how satisfying it is to the smoker. If menthol in cigarettes was banned, as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is currently considering, new/experimental smokers might choose not to smoke rather than experience the harshness of tobacco smoke and the irritating qualities of nicotine. Similarly, established menthol smokers might choose to quit if faced with an unpleasant smoking alternative

Menthol’s Potential Effects on Nicotine Dependence: A White Paper

Publicly available internal tobacco industry documents were analyzed to answer the following questions regarding menthol’s role in nicotine dependence: 1) What are the addiction and exposure measures and what are their relationships to menthol cigarette use? 2) Do menthol smokers show different signs or levels of nicotine dependence compared to non-menthol smokers? 3) Does menthol affect cigarette consumption (cigarettes per day) and do menthol smokers smoke more or fewer cigarettes per day compared to non-menthol smokers? 4) What is menthols’ effect on nicotine metabolism (i.e. glucuronide formation) and do menthol smokers experience different nicotine exposure and/or altered nicotine metabolism as compared to non-menthol smokers? (i.e. serum cotinine levels) 5) Does menthol have an effect on nicotine delivery? 6) Does menthol alter the addictiveness of smoking through sensory stimulation? Tobacco industry documents reveal at least two important reasons for menthol’s use in cigarettes. A final collection of 309 documents was analyzed for this report, of which 72 were deemed relevant to one or more of the research questions and cited in this paper. Our analyses of these documents indicate 1) menthol is used in cigarettes to override the harsh taste of tobacco; 2) menthol has physiological effects, and it synergistically interacts with nicotine; 3) menthol makes low tar, low nicotine tobacco products that would otherwise be tasteless and unsatisfactory acceptable to smokers. Tobacco manufacturers manipulated menthol levels to produce tobacco products that would be easier to consume, especially for new and inexperienced smokers

Menthol sensory qualities and smoking topography: a review of tobacco industry documents.

ObjectiveTo determine what the tobacco industry knew about the potential effects of menthol on smoking topography-how a person smokes a cigarette.MethodsA snowball strategy was used to systematically search the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu) between 1 June 2010 and 9 August 2010. We qualitatively analysed a final collection of 252 documents related to menthol and smoking topography.ResultsThe tobacco industry knew that menthol has cooling, anaesthetic and analgesic properties that moderate the harshness and irritation of tobacco. Owing to its physiological effects, menthol contributes to the sensory qualities of the smoke and affects smoking topography and cigarette preference.ConclusionOur review of industry studies suggests that the amount of menthol in a cigarette is associated with how the cigarette is smoked and how satisfying it is to the smoker. If menthol in cigarettes was banned, as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is currently considering, new/experimental smokers might choose not to smoke rather than experience the harshness of tobacco smoke and the irritating qualities of nicotine. Similarly, established menthol smokers might choose to quit if faced with an unpleasant smoking alternative