An Experimental Evaluation of Menthol-Flavored Tobacco Accessories

Summary

In a within-subjects design in-laboratory study, participants will sample non-menthol cigarettes mentholated with various accessories (e.g., crush balls, filter tips, aroma cards) in a controlled setting. They will compare these to their preferred menthol brand using subjective ratings (e.g., liking, strength, ease of use) and complete purchase tasks and ETM trials to assess product demand and likelihood of future use.

Conditions

• Cigarette
• Smoking Behaviors
• Cigarette Smoking Behavior

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Mentholated cigarette sampling

Participants will participate in five sampling trials (menthol cigarette, non-menthol cigarette, non-menthol cigarette mentholated with accessory 1, with accessory 2, and with accessory 3). They will be exposed to these trials in a randomized order. In each trial, participants will take four guided puffs from one cigarette. They will have a 20-minute washout period between trials. They will first complete subjective ratings for the product they just sampled. Then, during the washout period, participants will be instructed to rinse their mouth thoroughly with room-temperature water three times. Each rinse will last approximately 10 seconds, and participants will be guided to swish the water around all areas of the mouth before expectorating. A one-minute rest will follow each rinse to allow residual taste to dissipate. No food or drink will be allowed during this period.

BEHAVIORAL

Hypothetical Policy Scenarios

Participants will complete the real Experimental Tobacco Marketplace consisting of one control trial and two menthol flavor restrictions (menthol cigarettes unavailable and both menthol cigarettes and menthol-flavored accessories unavailable). Participants will complete a total of 3 purchasing trials each for 7 days worth of products. In each trial, participants will buy tobacco products to use throughout the next 7 days. At the end of the session, the participant will randomly draw an individual purchasing trial and will receive all the products purchased at that trial to use over the next week. During the following 7 days, the participant is asked to use only the tobacco/nicotine products received during the study.

BEHAVIORAL

Subjective value assessment

Participants will complete a hypothetical purchase task where the price of a variety of products will increase progressively during the task.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Roberta Freitas-Lemos, Ph.D. · Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC

Study Design

Allocation

NA

Purpose

OTHER

Masking

NONE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age

21 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-09-01

Primary Completion

2025-12-20

Completion

2026-04-30

Countries

• United States

Study Locations