Australian Smokers’ Sensory Experiences and Beliefs Associated with Menthol and Non-Menthol Cigarettes

Serafino Mancuso, Emily Brennan, Kimberley Dunstone, Amanda Vittiglia, Sarah Durkin, James F. Thrasher, Janet Hoek and Melanie Wakefield
Additional contact information
Serafino Mancuso: Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer, Cancer Council Victoria, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia
Emily Brennan: Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer, Cancer Council Victoria, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia
Kimberley Dunstone: Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer, Cancer Council Victoria, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia
Amanda Vittiglia: Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer, Cancer Council Victoria, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia
Sarah Durkin: Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer, Cancer Council Victoria, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia
James F. Thrasher: Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA
Janet Hoek: Department of Public Health, University of Otago, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
Melanie Wakefield: Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer, Cancer Council Victoria, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 11, 1-13

Abstract: Many current smokers incorrectly believe that menthol cigarettes are less harmful, likely due to the biological and sensory effects of menthol, which can lead smokers to have favourable sensory experiences. In this study, we measured the extent to which Australian smokers associate certain sensory experiences with smoking menthol and non-menthol cigarettes, and their beliefs about how damaging and enjoyable they find cigarettes with each of these sensory experiences. A sample of 999 Australian 18–69-year-old weekly smokers was recruited from a non-probability online panel; this study focuses on the 245 respondents who currently smoked menthol cigarettes at least once per week. Current menthol smokers were four to nine times more likely to experience menthol rather than non-menthol cigarettes as having favourable sensory experiences, including feeling smooth, being soothing on the throat, fresh-tasting and clean-feeling. Menthol smokers perceived cigarettes with these favourable sensations as less damaging and more enjoyable than cigarettes with the opposite more aversive sensory experience. Efforts to correct these misperceptions about risk will likely require messages that provide new information to help smokers understand that these sensations do not indicate a lower level of risk. Banning menthol in tobacco products—as has recently been done in some nations—would also be a timely and justified strategy for protecting consumers.

Keywords: menthol; menthol ban; tobacco products; sensory experiences; harm perceptions; public policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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