Because the current study represented a secondary data analysis o

Because the current study represented a secondary data analysis of existing data, it was necessarily restricted in this regard. Limitations of research use only the current study include that it was focused on a select group of treatment-seeking smokers from a large metropolitan area in the southwest. Therefore, results may not generalize to nontreatment-seeking smokers, smokers from rural areas, or smokers from other areas of the country, inasmuch as these smokers may differ from the ones included in this study. Nontreatment-seeking smokers (self-quitters), for example, may be less dependent on tobacco than treatment-seeking smokers, and so forth. It is important to examine relations between menthol use and cessation among self-quitters, as well as among smokers of different racial/ethnic groups, in order to better understand the broader impact of menthol use on smoking and quitting behaviors.

In addition, although we adjusted analyses for many covariates that were known to potentially affect the relations of interest, it is possible that some relevant covariates were omitted. For example, information on compliance with the nicotine replacement therapy provided in this study was not collected and could not be included in analyses. Another limitation of the current study was the limited focus on short-term smoking abstinence. The results of the current study may not generalize to long-term smoking abstinence. Future studies should address this important area of research. Finally, our exploratory analyses focused on one conceptualization of tobacco dependence, the HSI.

Future studies might use multiple measures of tobacco dependence to examine for consistency of associations across measures both within and between racial groups. In conclusion, the current study adds to the extant literature on relations between menthol cigarette use and smoking cessation, and suggests that menthol use is related to increased difficulty in successfully quitting smoking among treatment-seeking White smokers. These results, coupled with other research citing similar effects among White (Delnevo et al., 2011; Kahende et al., 2011; Reitzel et al., 2011) and Black smokers (Foulds et al., 2010), can inform the future actions taken by the Food and Drug Administration with regard to the banning of mentholated flavorings in cigarettes.

FUNDING This work was supported by grants from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (K01DP000086 to JIV), and the National Institutes of Health through Carfilzomib MD Anderson��s Cancer Center Support Grant (CA016672), as well as by start-up funds (to LRR) as provided by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The contents of this work are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the project supporters.

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