Mateusz Zatoński1,2,3, Aleksandra Herbeć1,4,5, Witold Zatoński1,3, Krzysztof Przewoźniak1,6, Kinga Janik-Koncewicz1, Ute Mons7, Geoffrey T Fong8,9, Tibor Demjén10, Yannis Tountas11, Antigona C Trofor12,13, Esteve Fernández14,15, Ann McNeil14,16, Marc Willemsen17, Karin Hummel17, Anne C K Quah18, Christina N Kyriakos19,20, Constantine I Vardavas19,20. 1. Health Promotion Foundation (HPF), Warsaw, Poland. 2. Department of Health Services Research and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom. 3. European Observatory of Health Inequalities, President Stanisław Wojciechowski State University of Applied Sciences, Kalisz, Poland. 4. UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies, London, United Kingdom. 5. Department of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom. 6. Maria Skłodowska-Curie Institute - Oncology Center, Warsaw, Poland. 7. Cancer Prevention Unit and WHO Collaborating Centre for Tobacco Control, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany. 8. Department of Psychology & School of Public Health and Health Systems, University of Waterloo (UW), Waterloo, Canada. 9. Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, Toronto, Canada. 10. Smoking or Health Hungarian Foundation (SHHF), Budapest, Hungary. 11. University of Athens (UoA), Athens, Greece. 12. University of Medicine and Pharmacy 'Grigore T. Popa' Iasi, Iasi, Romania. 13. Aer Pur Romania, Bucharest, Romania. 14. Tobacco Control Unit, Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO), and Cancer Control and Prevention Group, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), L'Hospitalet, Catalonia, Spain. 15. School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. 16. National Addiction Centre, King's College London, London, United Kingdom. 17. Department of Health Promotion, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands. 18. Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo (UW), Waterloo, Canada. 19. European Network for Smoking and Tobacco Prevention (ENSP), Brussels, Belgium. 20. University of Crete (UoC), Heraklion, Greece.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Little research exists on the sociodemographic characteristics of menthol and flavoured cigarette (MFC) smokers in Europe. This study assessed the proportion of MFC smokers in Europe, their sociodemographic characteristics, and their attitudes towards tobacco control measures. METHODS: Cross-sectional data were collected in 2016 among 10760 adult current smokers from 8 European countries (ITC Europe Project and EUREST-PLUS). Smokers of menthol, other flavoured, unflavoured tobacco, or no usual brand were compared on sociodemographic characteristics, attitudes towards a range of tobacco control measures (e.g. ban on flavouring), and on intentions regarding their smoking behaviour following the ban on flavoured tobacco. Data were analysed in SPSS Complex Samples Package using univariate analyses. RESULTS: Among the respondents, 7.4% smoked menthol cigarettes and 2.9% other flavoured tobacco, but large differences existed between countries (e.g. 0.4% smokers smoked menthol cigarettes in Spain vs 12.4% in England). Compared to other groups, menthol cigarette smokers were younger, more likely to be female, better educated, had higher household income, and smoked fewer cigarettes (all p<0.001). A quarter of menthol smokers supported a ban on additives, compared with almost half of all other smokers (p<0.001). In case of a ban on flavourings, around a fifth of all MFC smokers intended to switch to another brand, and a third to reduce the amount they smoked or to quit smoking, but there was no consistent pattern across MFC smokers among the countries. CONCLUSIONS: The ban on flavourings introduced by the EU Tobacco Products Directive (extended to 2020 for menthols) will affect one in ten smokers in the countries surveyed, which provides an opportunity for targeting these groups with cessation programmes. However, smokers of menthol and flavoured cigarettes in the different European countries are a heterogeneous group and may need different approaches.
INTRODUCTION: Little research exists on the sociodemographic characteristics of menthol and flavoured cigarette (MFC) smokers in Europe. This study assessed the proportion of MFC smokers in Europe, their sociodemographic characteristics, and their attitudes towards tobacco control measures. METHODS: Cross-sectional data were collected in 2016 among 10760 adult current smokers from 8 European countries (ITC Europe Project and EUREST-PLUS). Smokers of menthol, other flavoured, unflavoured tobacco, or no usual brand were compared on sociodemographic characteristics, attitudes towards a range of tobacco control measures (e.g. ban on flavouring), and on intentions regarding their smoking behaviour following the ban on flavoured tobacco. Data were analysed in SPSS Complex Samples Package using univariate analyses. RESULTS: Among the respondents, 7.4% smoked menthol cigarettes and 2.9% other flavoured tobacco, but large differences existed between countries (e.g. 0.4% smokers smoked menthol cigarettes in Spain vs 12.4% in England). Compared to other groups, menthol cigarette smokers were younger, more likely to be female, better educated, had higher household income, and smoked fewer cigarettes (all p<0.001). A quarter of menthol smokers supported a ban on additives, compared with almost half of all other smokers (p<0.001). In case of a ban on flavourings, around a fifth of all MFC smokers intended to switch to another brand, and a third to reduce the amount they smoked or to quit smoking, but there was no consistent pattern across MFC smokers among the countries. CONCLUSIONS: The ban on flavourings introduced by the EU Tobacco Products Directive (extended to 2020 for menthols) will affect one in ten smokers in the countries surveyed, which provides an opportunity for targeting these groups with cessation programmes. However, smokers of menthol and flavoured cigarettes in the different European countries are a heterogeneous group and may need different approaches.
Entities:
Keywords:
ban on additives; cross-sectional study; flavoured cigarettes; menthol cigarettes
Authors: Mateusz Zatoński; Aleksandra Herbeć; Witold Zatoński; Kinga Janik-Koncewicz; Pete Driezen; Tibor Demjén; Esteve Fernández; Geoffrey T Fong; Anne C K Quah; Christina N Kyriakos; Ann McNeill; Marc Willemsen; Ute Mons; Yannis Tountas; Antigona C Trofor; Constantine I Vardavas; Krzysztof Przewoźniak Journal: Eur J Public Health Date: 2020-07-01 Impact factor: 3.367
Authors: Katherine A East; Jessica L Reid; Robin Burkhalter; Loren Kock; Andrew Hyland; Geoffrey T Fong; David Hammond Journal: JAMA Netw Open Date: 2022-05-02
Authors: Alex C Liber; Michal Stoklosa; David T Levy; Luz María Sánchez-Romero; Christopher J Cadham; Michael F Pesko Journal: Eur J Public Health Date: 2022-10-03 Impact factor: 4.424