Effect of Menthol-preferring Status on Response to Intravenous Nicotine

Objectives: Menthol, a flavoring agent, is found in approximately 90% of cigarettes, but at much higher levels in menthol than non-menthol cigarettes. Menthol is reportedly included in cigarettes for its cooling and soothing effects, but also additional actions that affect smokers' receipt and processing of nicotine. In this study we investigated the response to short-term abstinence and acute nicotine delivery in menthol-preferring and non-menthol-preferring smokers.

Methods: Nicotine dependent participants (N = 134) participated in an intravenous nicotine delivery session following overnight smoking abstinence. Participants were intravenously administered a placebo and 2 escalating nicotine doses. We compare subjective and physiological responses to nicotine and smoking urges, withdrawal, and cognitive performance following overnight abstinence and post-nicotine between regular 'menthol' smokers and 'non-menthol' cigarette smokers.

Results: Relative to non-menthol-preferring smokers, menthol-preferring smokers re a smaller reduction in smoking urges from overnight abstinence baseline to post-nicotine end-of-session and rated less subjective differences between nicotine doses.

Conclusions: Differences between menthol-preferring and non-menthol-preferring smokers' responses to abstinence or acute nicotine could reflect pre-existing individual differences that may have in initial development of menthol preferences, or could have arisen secondarily to pro use of menthol versus non-menthol cigarettes.