Behavioural intentions in response to a potential menthol cigarette sales ban: a survey examining smokers in Washington, DC public housing

Objectives Local, national and international policies are being proposed to ban the sale of menthol-flavoured tobacco products. With more bans being implemented, it is increasingly important to understand reactions to these bans among smokers of low socioeconomic status. This study examined public h...

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Main Authors: Kimberly Horn, Craig T Dearfield, Ian Crandell, Debra H Bernat
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2022-07-01
Series:BMJ Open
Online Access:https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/7/e059821.full
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author Kimberly Horn
Craig T Dearfield
Ian Crandell
Debra H Bernat
author_facet Kimberly Horn
Craig T Dearfield
Ian Crandell
Debra H Bernat
author_sort Kimberly Horn
collection DOAJ
description Objectives Local, national and international policies are being proposed to ban the sale of menthol-flavoured tobacco products. With more bans being implemented, it is increasingly important to understand reactions to these bans among smokers of low socioeconomic status. This study examined public housing residents’ behavioural intentions if menthol-flavoured cigarettes were no longer sold.Setting 15 District of Columbia Housing Authority properties between March 2019 and March 2021.Participants 221 District of Columbia Housing Authority residents ages 18–80 years who reported smoking menthol cigarettes (83.3% African-American/black).Primary and secondary outcomes Cigarette quitting and switching intentions due to a hypothetical menthol-flavoured cigarette sales ban.Results Nearly one-half (48.0%) of residents said they intended to quit cigarette use if menthol-flavoured products were no longer sold, while 27.2% were unsure if they would quit, and 24.9% reported they would not quit. Older residents (OR 0.94 per year, 95% CI 0.91 to 0.97), senior/disabled building versus family building residents (OR 0.50, 95% CI 0.25 to 0.97), those who smoked within 30 min of waking (OR 0.48, 95% CI 0.23 to 0.98) and daily smokers (OR 0.42, 95% CI 0.21 to 0.84) had lower odds of reporting quit intentions associated with a menthol ban. Of those not intending to quit, 40.7% reported they would switch to non-menthol cigarettes, 20.4% to another non-menthol product, 13.0% to menthol e-cigarettes and 20.4% to another menthol product.Conclusions Results suggest banning the sale of menthol-flavoured products has the potential to impact cigarette smoking cessation. Nearly three-quarters of smokers in public housing indicated a possibility of quitting smoking because of a menthol cigarette ban. Bans that include all flavours in all tobacco products may be most effective for facilitating overall tobacco cessation.
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spelling doaj-art-ff9bf5dd8df64b888ce41b7fe3cd4b6b2025-01-31T13:15:10ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552022-07-0112710.1136/bmjopen-2021-059821Behavioural intentions in response to a potential menthol cigarette sales ban: a survey examining smokers in Washington, DC public housingKimberly Horn0Craig T Dearfield1Ian Crandell2Debra H Bernat3Department of Population Health Sciences, Virginia Tech-Carilion Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, Roanoke, Virginia, USAEpidemiology, The George Washington University Milken Institute of Public Health, Washington, District of Columbia, USADepartment of Statistics, Center for Biostatistics and Health Data Science, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Roanoke, Virginia, USAEpidemiology, The George Washington University Milken Institute of Public Health, Washington, District of Columbia, USAObjectives Local, national and international policies are being proposed to ban the sale of menthol-flavoured tobacco products. With more bans being implemented, it is increasingly important to understand reactions to these bans among smokers of low socioeconomic status. This study examined public housing residents’ behavioural intentions if menthol-flavoured cigarettes were no longer sold.Setting 15 District of Columbia Housing Authority properties between March 2019 and March 2021.Participants 221 District of Columbia Housing Authority residents ages 18–80 years who reported smoking menthol cigarettes (83.3% African-American/black).Primary and secondary outcomes Cigarette quitting and switching intentions due to a hypothetical menthol-flavoured cigarette sales ban.Results Nearly one-half (48.0%) of residents said they intended to quit cigarette use if menthol-flavoured products were no longer sold, while 27.2% were unsure if they would quit, and 24.9% reported they would not quit. Older residents (OR 0.94 per year, 95% CI 0.91 to 0.97), senior/disabled building versus family building residents (OR 0.50, 95% CI 0.25 to 0.97), those who smoked within 30 min of waking (OR 0.48, 95% CI 0.23 to 0.98) and daily smokers (OR 0.42, 95% CI 0.21 to 0.84) had lower odds of reporting quit intentions associated with a menthol ban. Of those not intending to quit, 40.7% reported they would switch to non-menthol cigarettes, 20.4% to another non-menthol product, 13.0% to menthol e-cigarettes and 20.4% to another menthol product.Conclusions Results suggest banning the sale of menthol-flavoured products has the potential to impact cigarette smoking cessation. Nearly three-quarters of smokers in public housing indicated a possibility of quitting smoking because of a menthol cigarette ban. Bans that include all flavours in all tobacco products may be most effective for facilitating overall tobacco cessation.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/7/e059821.full
spellingShingle Kimberly Horn
Craig T Dearfield
Ian Crandell
Debra H Bernat
Behavioural intentions in response to a potential menthol cigarette sales ban: a survey examining smokers in Washington, DC public housing
BMJ Open
title Behavioural intentions in response to a potential menthol cigarette sales ban: a survey examining smokers in Washington, DC public housing
title_full Behavioural intentions in response to a potential menthol cigarette sales ban: a survey examining smokers in Washington, DC public housing
title_fullStr Behavioural intentions in response to a potential menthol cigarette sales ban: a survey examining smokers in Washington, DC public housing
title_full_unstemmed Behavioural intentions in response to a potential menthol cigarette sales ban: a survey examining smokers in Washington, DC public housing
title_short Behavioural intentions in response to a potential menthol cigarette sales ban: a survey examining smokers in Washington, DC public housing
title_sort behavioural intentions in response to a potential menthol cigarette sales ban a survey examining smokers in washington dc public housing
url https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/7/e059821.full
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