Malaysian and Thai smokers' beliefs about the harmfulness of ‘light’ and menthol cigarettes

Abstract

Objective This study explored the extent to which Malaysian and Thai smokers believe “light” and menthol cigarettes are less harmful than “regular” cigarettes and the correlates of these beliefs. Methods The study used data from wave 1 of the International Tobacco Control Southeast Asia Survey. 2006 adult smokers (95.3% male) from Malaysia and 2000 adult smokers (94.5% male) from Thailand were interviewed face to face in 2005. Results 29% of Malaysian respondents reported currently smoking light cigarettes and 14% menthols, with 19% agreeing that lights are less harmful and 16% agreeing that menthols are less harmful. 38% of Thai respondents reported currently smoking light cigarettes and 19% menthols, with 46% agreeing that lights are less harmful and 35% agreeing that menthols are less harmful. Malaysian smokers reporting current use of light or menthol cigarettes were more likely to believe that they are less harmful. Reported use of lights did not relate to beliefs for Thai respondents. The belief that light and/or menthol cigarettes are less harmful was strongly related to the belief that they have smoother smoke. Conclusions The experience of smoother smoke is likely to produce some level of belief in reduced harm, regardless of how brands are labelled and whether or not Federal Trade Commission FTC/International Organisation for Standardisation tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide yield figures are used.

Socioeconomic Differences in the Effectiveness of the Removal of the “Light” Descriptor on Cigarette Packs: Findings from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Thailand Survey

“…The finding that lower socioeconomic smokers had a higher average level of endorsement of incorrect beliefs about “light” cigarettes were consistent with King and colleagues’ results which used the data from the first wave of the ITC Thailand and showed that lower education was associated with the belief that “light” cigarettes are healthier and easier to quit than regular cigarettes [26]. The findings were also consistent with the literature that lower socioeconomic position is associated with less knowledge of the harms of smoking [10,33–35].…”

Menthol's potential effects on nicotine dependence: a tobacco industry perspective

“…Tobacco companies also targeted their menthol marketing campaigns at women,9 32 who use mentholated cigarettes at much higher rates than their male counterparts 17. Additionally, mentholated cigarettes are actively promoted in other parts of the world and make up a substantial proportion of the market in many developing countries 4 33…”

Misperceptions about “light” cigarettes among smokers in Zambia: Findings from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Zambia Survey

“…However, the interaction term was not significant (log odds=0.26 p=0.74; not shown), indicating that this relation does not differ for "lights" and "non-lights" cigarette users as was shown in Table 3. 3 and China (71%) 2 . By far the strongest predictor of the misperception that "lights" are less harmful is the belief that "lights" are smoother on the throat and chest (r = 0.788, adjusted OR = 131.13).…”

“…Despite the fact that cigarettes described as "light" or "low tar" do not reduce health risks compared to regular brands, many smokers continue to believe that they are less harmful [1][2][3][4][5] . Filtervented "light" cigarettes ("lights") were initially introduced in Western countries to persuade increasingly health concerned smokers that they could reduce their health risks by smoking cigarettes that were apparently less harmful 6 .…”

“…Beliefs about the harmfulness of "lights" differed widely among smokers in Malaysia compared to Thailand. In Malaysia, 19% of smokers believed that "lights" are less harmful than regular cigarettes compared to 46% of smokers in Thailand 3 . In China, 71% of smokers believed that "lights" or "low tar" cigarettes were less harmful than full-flavored cigarettes 2 .…”