Heaviness of smoking index in menthol and non-menthol smokers

It has been hypothesized that menthol in cigarettes increases dependence. Several studies suggest that menthol and non-menthol smokers have similar or lower levels of dependence, but those studies are not without limitations. The Heaviness of Smoking Index (HSI) is a widely accepted, validated measure of cigarette dependence.

This report aims to provide further evidence regarding dependence among menthol and non-menthol smokers, as indicated by daily smoking and as measured by the HSI.

Survey data from 27,131 adult smokers were analyzed to compare the percent of menthol and non-menthol smokers who are daily smokers, and the percentage who are low or high HSI dependence. Logistic regressions were also conducted to determine if menthol use predicts daily smoking, and low or high dependence after controlling for demographic differences.

Comparisons among weighted samples of adult smokers demonstrate that menthol smokers were consistently more likely to be non-daily smokers, more likely to be in the low dependence category, and less likely to be in the high dependence category on the HSI as compared to non-menthol smokers. Logistic regression confirmed that when controlling for age, gender, race/ethnicity, and education, relative to non-menthol smokers, menthol smokers had no difference in odds of being in the low dependence HSI category and significantly lower odds of being a daily smoker, and of being in the high dependence category.

These analyses support the conclusion that, based on the HSI, menthol smokers are not more cigarette dependent than non-menthol smokers, and may be less dependent.