Comparison of E-Cigarette Use among Menthol and Non-Menthol Smokers: Findings from a Community Based Sample

Objective: E-cigarette use is increasing among adult cigarette smokers. With the availability and variety of appealing charac­teristics, including menthol flavor, e-ciga­rette use patterns may differ among menthol and non-menthol cigarette smokers. This study compared e-cigarette knowledge and use between current menthol and non-menthol smokers aged ≥18 years.Design: Current adult cigarette smokers (N=223; M=42.1 years; SD=12.2; 68% menthol smokers) recruited in South Florida completed an interviewer-administered sur­vey via telephone during June to November 2014.Main Outcome Measures: E-cigarette use (ever-use, past 30-day use, past 30-day flavored e-cigarette use, and past 30-day mentholated e-cigarette use), consideration of e-cigarette use for quitting/reduction of cigarettes, and knowledge assessments. Bivariate and multivariate analyses tested associations with menthol smoking.Results: Menthol smokers were more likely to be African American or Hispanic (PConclusions: Our findings suggest that, compared with current non-menthol smokers, current menthol smokers are more likely to consider using e-cigarettes to help quit/reduce smoking, and are more likely to use menthol flavored e-cigarettes. Further research is needed to better ex­amine low e-cigarette knowledge among menthol smokers, which may represent an important intervention target.Ethn Dis. 2018;28(3):153-160; doi:10.18865/ ed.28.3.153.