Underestimation of Menthol Cigarette Use Among Young U.S. Black Smokers: Comment on the Article by Rock et al.

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Rock, Davis, Thorne, Asman, and Caraballo (2010) reported that the proportion of self-described menthol cigarette users among Black current smokers in the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) for 2004–2008 was lower at age 12–17 years (71.9%, 95% confidence interval or CI = 67.1%–76.1%) than at age 18–25 years (85.0%, 95% CI = 83.4%–86.5%) and 26+ years (82.2%, 95% CI = 80.1%–84.1%). This increase after adolescence in Blacks, not evident in any other racial–ethnic group or for all “races” combined (Rock et al., 2010), may be an artifact rather than a real racial–ethnic difference in the age pattern of menthol cigarette use. Giovino et al. (2004) reported that overall disagreement between self-described menthol cigarette use and reported cigarette brand (i.e., exclusively menthol or exclusively nonmenthol) in the 2000 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NSDUH’s predecessor) was low but that among Black smokers aged 12–17 years 55.7% reported smoking a “menthol” versus “regular” cigarette, whereas 82.9% reported a brand (Newport, Kool, or Salem) sold almost exclusively (>99%) in menthol varieties.