Wave 1 characteristics overall and by pre-ban menthol versus non-menthol use, among adult smokers who participated in waves 1–3 of the ITC Netherlands 2020–2021 Surveys,* weighted
| Variable | Overall (N=1326) | Menthol smokers (n=99) | Non-menthol smokers (n=1223) | Menthol vs non-menthol | ||||||
| n | % | 95% CI | n | % | 95% CI | n | % | 95% CI | P value | |
| Region | ||||||||||
| West | 547 | 46.5 | 46.1 to 46.9 | 52 | 57.0 | 47.4 to 66.1 | 494 | 45.7 | 44.8 to 46.6 | 0.060 |
| North | 154 | 11.5 | 11.3 to 11.8 | 11 | 11.8 | 6.7 to 19.9 | 142 | 11.5 | 10.9 to 12.0 | |
| East | 291 | 20.7 | 20.4 to 21.0 | 22 | 19.7 | 13.3 to 28.1 | 268 | 20.8 | 20.1 to 21.5 | |
| South | 334 | 21.2 | 19.4 to 23.1 | 14 | 11.5 | 6.9 to 18.6 | 319 | 22.0 | 21.4 to 22.6 | |
| Sex | ||||||||||
| Male | 751 | 56.6 | 53.8 to 59.3 | 29 | 29.2 | 21.0 to 39.0 | 719 | 58.7 | 55.9 to 61.5 | <0.001 |
| Female | 575 | 43.4 | 40.7 to 46.2 | 70 | 70.8 | 61.0 to 79.0 | 504 | 41.3 | 38.5 to 44.1 | |
| Age group (years) | ||||||||||
| 18–24 | 166 | 14.2 | 12.3 to 16.0 | 13 | 17.2 | 10.3 to 27.2 | 153 | 14.0 | 12.0 to 16.2 | <0.001 |
| 25–39 | 418 | 28.2 | 25.9 to 29.5 | 51 | 44.8 | 35.3 to 54.8 | 365 | 26.8 | 24.4 to 29.3 | |
| 40–54 | 363 | 27.0 | 24.6 to 29.5 | 22 | 24.3 | 16.6 to 34.2 | 340 | 27.2 | 24.8 to 29.8 | |
| 55+ | 379 | 30.6 | 28.1 to 33.2 | 13 | 13.6 | 8.0 to 22.1 | 365 | 32.0 | 29.4 to 34.7 | |
| Household income | ||||||||||
| Low | 278 | 21.4 | 19.2 to 23.8 | 21 | 21.5 | 14.3 to 31.0 | 256 | 21.4 | 19.1 to 23.8 | 0.659 |
| Moderate | 258 | 19.4 | 17.3 to 21.7 | 16 | 15.6 | 9.6 to 24.1 | 242 | 19.8 | 17.6 to 22.2 | |
| High | 493 | 36.3 | 33.7 to 39.0 | 43 | 41.4 | 32.0 to 51.4 | 448 | 35.8 | 33.2 to 38.6 | |
| Not stated | 297 | 22.9 | 20.6 to 25.3 | 19 | 21.6 | 14.2 to 31.4 | 277 | 23.0 | 20.7 to 25.5 | |
| Education | ||||||||||
| Low | 462 | 38.3 | 35.6 to 41.0 | 21 | 23.8 | 16.0 to 33.8 | 438 | 39.3 | 36.5 to 42.2 | <0.001 |
| Moderate | 572 | 40.9 | 38.3 to 43.6 | 39 | 38.0 | 28.8 to 48.0 | 532 | 41.2 | 38.5 to 44.0 | |
| High | 285 | 20.3 | 18.3 to 22.6 | 38 | 37.3 | 28.2 to 47.4 | 247 | 19.0 | 16.9 to 21.3 | |
| Not stated | 7 | 0.46 | 0.22 to 1.0 | 1 | 0.9 | 0.1 to 6.2 | 6 | 0.4 | 0.2 to 1.0 | |
| Smoking frequency | ||||||||||
| Non-daily | 202 | 15.0 | 13.2 to 17.1 | 25 | 25.3 | 17.5 to 35.0 | 176 | 14.1 | 12.3 to 16.2 | 0.003 |
| Daily | 1124 | 85.0 | 82.9 to 86.8 | 74 | 74.7 | 65.0 to 82.4 | 1047 | 85.9 | 83.8 to 87.7 | |
| Usual brand | ||||||||||
| FM | 875 | 65.5 | 62.9 to 68.1 | 96 | 97.2 | 91.5 to 99.1 | 777 | 63.0 | 60.2 to 65.7 | <0.001 |
| RYO | 446 | 34.5 | 31.9 to 37.1 | 3 | 2.8 | 0.9 to 8.5 | 441 | 37.0 | 34.3 to 39.8 | |
| HSI | ||||||||||
| Lower (0–3) | 1037 | 78.8 | 76.5 to 81.0 | 84 | 86.5 | 78.3 to 92.0 | 948 | 78.2 | 75.7 to 80.5 | 0.051 |
| Higher (4–6) | 276 | 21.1 | 19.0 to 23.5 | 14 | 13.5 | 8.0 to 21.7 | 261 | 21.8 | 19.5 to 24.3 | |
| HSI mean score | 1313 | 2.2 | 2.1 to 2.3 | 98 | 1.5 | 1.2 to 1.8 | 1209 | 2.3 | 2.2 to 2.4 | <0.001 |
| Plans to quit | ||||||||||
| No plans | 129 | 12.4 | 10.5 to 14.6 | 6 | 6.3 | 2.8 to 13.6 | 123 | 13.0 | 11.0 to 15.3 | 0.007 |
| Within 6 months | 340 | 31.6 | 28.8 to 34.5 | 40 | 45.7 | 35.3 to 56.5 | 299 | 30.2 | 27.4 to 33.3 | |
| In future >6 months | 586 | 56.0 | 52.9 to 59.0 | 40 | 47.9 | 37.4 to 58.7 | 546 | 56.7 | 53.5 to 59.9 | |
| Ever tried to quit | ||||||||||
| No | 314 | 24.0 | 21.8 to 26.5 | 20 | 21.5 | 14.2 to 31.2 | 293 | 24.2 | 21.8 to 26.8 | 0.565 |
| Yes | 1010 | 76.0 | 73.5 to 78.2 | 79 | 78.5 | 68.8 to 85.8 | 928 | 75.8 | 73.2 to 78.1 | |
Statistically significant values are indicated in bold.
*Wave 1 (pre-ban): February–March 2020; menthol ban: May 2020; wave 2 (post-ban): September–November 2020; wave 3 (post-ban): June–July 2021.
FM, factory-made cigarettes; HSI, Heaviness of Smoking Index; ITC, International Tobacco Control; RYO, roll-your-own tobacco.