Recall that one of the issues in the WTO Clove Cigarettes case is whether clove cigarettes and/or menthol cigarettes act as "starter" cigarettes. The advisory panel report to the FDA on menthol cigarettes, mentioned in the last post, may be relevant to this issue:
Adolescents 12 to 17 years of age smoke menthol cigarettes at a higher rate than any other age group (NSDUH 2009). Among adolescent smokers, 49.9 percent of those in middle school and 44.9 percent of those in high school report that they usually smoke a menthol cigarette brand (Caraballo and Asman, white paper).
Rates of menthol cigarette smoking are higher among established middle school smokers—those who have smoked cigarettes for at least one year—than among novice middle school smokers. According to Hersey et al., where they analyzed the NYTS 54.7 percent of established middle school smokers and 42.2 percent of novice middle school smokers usually smoke menthol cigarettes.
With regard to high school smokers, experienced and novice smokers use menthol cigarettes in roughly the same proportion; 43.1 percent of established high school smokers and 42.8 percent of new high school smokers say they usually smoke menthol cigarettes (Hersey et al. 2010).
Data from the TUS CPS, which does not survey people under 18, show that menthol smoking prevalence is highest among 18–24 year olds—an additional indication that menthol cigarettes are particularly popular among younger smokers (Lawrence et al. 2010).
See p. 36.
