Academic Journal
Sales of cigarettes with WS-3, a synthetic cooling agent, in an area with a menthol cigarette sales prohibition.
| Τίτλος: | Sales of cigarettes with WS-3, a synthetic cooling agent, in an area with a menthol cigarette sales prohibition. |
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| Συγγραφείς: | Pepper JK; Office of Health Communication and Education, Center for Tobacco Products, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD 20993, United States., Lee IH; Office of Science, Center for Tobacco Products, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD 20993, United States., Maki A; Office of Science, Center for Tobacco Products, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD 20993, United States., Lee T; Office of Science, Center for Tobacco Products, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD 20993, United States., Hannings J; Office of Science, Center for Tobacco Products, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD 20993, United States., Rajan-Sharma AO; Office of Science, Center for Tobacco Products, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD 20993, United States., Frissell KC; Office of Science, Center for Tobacco Products, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD 20993, United States., Bernat JK; Office of Science, Center for Tobacco Products, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD 20993, United States. |
| Πηγή: | Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco [Nicotine Tob Res] 2026 Aug 24; Vol. 28 (9), pp. 1599-1603. |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: Oxford University Press Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 9815751 Publication Model: Print Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1469-994X (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 14622203 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Nicotine Tob Res Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Publication: <2009->: Oxford : Oxford University Press Original Publication: Abingdon, Oxfordshire, UK : Carfax Pub. and Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco, c1999- |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Tobacco Products*/economics , Tobacco Products*/legislation & jurisprudence , Commerce*/statistics & numerical data , Tobacco Industry*/legislation & jurisprudence , Menthol*, California ; Humans ; Oregon ; Washington |
| Περίληψη: | Introduction: The synthetic cooling agent WS-3 (N-ethyl-p-menthane-3-carboxamide) elicits a cooling sensation without a minty taste. In areas with menthol cigarette sales prohibitions, such as California, tobacco companies have marketed cigarettes with WS-3 as alternatives to menthol cigarettes. We examined sales of cigarettes with WS-3 in NielsenIQ's Retail Measurement Services Pacific division, which includes the state of California. Methods: With NielsenIQ data, we estimated sales of cigarettes with WS-3 from June 2022 to March 2024. We compared the NielsenIQ Pacific division, which includes California and two less populous states (Washington and Oregon), to all other divisions combined. Within the Pacific division, we compared trends in sales of cigarettes with WS-3 to menthol cigarettes. Results: In our study period, cigarettes with WS-3 appeared in the NielsenIQ Pacific division approximately 2 weeks before the implementation of California's menthol cigarette prohibition in December 2022 and did not appear elsewhere in substantive quantities (>5 cartons) until Spring 2023. Most (87.0%) sales of cigarettes with WS-3 during the study period occurred in the Pacific division, peaking near 19 000 weekly carton sales. Weekly sales of Pacific division menthol cigarettes dropped by more than 100 000 cartons in 2 months after California's prohibition. Conclusion: In the Pacific division, California's menthol cigarette prohibition appears to have moderately reduced sales of menthol cigarettes and spurred sales of cigarettes with WS-3. Observationally, these sales data suggest that cigarettes with WS-3 only partially displaced the declining sales of menthol cigarettes. Future research could examine reasons for and experiences using cigarettes with WS-3. Implications: Tobacco companies explicitly marketed cigarettes with the synthetic cooling agent WS-3 as replacements for menthol cigarettes. Sales data from NielsenIQ's Pacific division suggest that California's menthol cigarette prohibition may have reduced sales of menthol cigarettes and spurred the introduction of cigarettes with WS-3 into the marketplace. The findings suggest that sales of cigarettes with WS-3 did not fully offset the decrease in menthol cigarette sales. (© The Author(s) 2026. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco.) |
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| Grant Information: | Food and Drug Administration (FDA); Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: cigarette; menthol; sales data |
| Substance Nomenclature: | 1490-04-6 (Menthol) |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260417 Date Completed: 20260824 Latest Revision: 20260826 |
| Update Code: | 20260826 |
| PubMed Central ID: | PMC13500345 |
| DOI: | 10.1093/ntr/ntag060 |
| PMID: | 41995035 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1469-994X |
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| DOI: | 10.1093/ntr/ntag060 |