Sensory Tests of Cigarettes for Identification of Flavors in Current Daily Smoking Adults

Summary

This clinical trial tests how well current daily smoking adults can identify flavors of cigarettes. Menthol cigarettes account for 31 percent of cigarettes sold in the United States. Flavors such as menthol play an important role in the start and continued use of tobacco products. Two ways users experience flavor is through smell and taste. Menthol has cooling and numbing properties that can increase perceptions of smoothness and reduce the perceived harshness of smoke. Menthol adds a taste and aroma commonly described as "minty". The effect of menthol flavoring on smoking behavior has been studied. Use of menthol cigarettes has been associated with greater nicotine dependence and is associated with both fewer quit attempts and lower odds of quit success. In 2022, the Food and Drug Administration proposed to restrict the use of menthol as a flavor in cigarettes. Menthol has already been banned in Canada, the United Kingdom and the European Union. In late 2022, a restriction on all flavored tobacco products went into effect in California (CA), prompting the tobacco industry to introduce substitute products that did not contain menthol. It is important to find out whether New York (NY) adult smokers who smoke menthol cigarettes can identify and characterize flavors in the same cigarette brand as sold in NY versus CA following the ban of menthol cigarettes in 2022.

Conditions

• Cigarette Smoking-Related Carcinoma

Interventions

OTHER

Cigarette smell test

Undergo cigarette smell test of 16 cigarettes in vials, then rate the overall smell on a 5 pt scale (not at all, a little noticeable, noticeable, clearly/very noticeable , do not know what this is).

OTHER

Cigarette Taste Test

Participants will be present 3 vials , each containing a cigarette and sample in order specified on label, then complete a coolness measure on a 0-100 visual analog scale.

OTHER

Study questionnaires

Sensory questionnaires will be administered using a web based application

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Roswell Park Cancer Institute

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Richard J O'Connor · Roswell Park Cancer Institute

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

21 Years

Max Age

55 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-10-14

Primary Completion

2027-10-14

Completion

2027-10-14

FDA Drug

Yes

Countries

• United States

Study Locations