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Home / American Journal of Health Behavior, Volume 43, Number 2

Effect of Cigarette Rod Length on Smokers Switching to SPECTRUM Cigarettes

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Objectives: Cigarettes vary in rod length but are generally thought of as a constant unit. In this study, we evaluated whether the rod length of participants' usual brand cigarettes affected their perceptions and smoking habits when switching to SPECTRUMs. Methods: Data were analyzed for 341 participants smoking their own brand cigarettes for one week and after switching to normal nicotine content (11.6 mg) SPECTRUMs for 2 weeks. Changes in perceptions of cigarette attributes and biomarkers of smoke exposure were evaluated using linear mixed models among 3 groups: usual length short (ULS, 72 mm); medium/king (ULM, ~84 mm); and long (ULL ≥ 100 mm). Results: Among the 3 cigarette length groups, only ULL smokers' rated SPECTRUMs significantly less strong, harder to draw, lower in taste, and lower in enjoyment (p < .03) compared to usual brand. Among all groups, satisfaction was significantly lower for SPECTRUMs (p < .02). Cigarettes per day (CPD) increased significantly more for ULL (+4.75 CPD) as compared to ULM (+1.38 CPD) (p < .001). When switching to SPECTRUMs, cotinine-per-cigarette decreased among all groups, and exhaled carbon monoxide increased significantly in ULL and ULM smokers (p < .001). Conclusion: People who smoked long cigarettes had the largest changes in perceptions and use when switching to SPECTRUM research cigarettes.

Keywords: ADDICTION; CIGARETTE ROD LENGTH; HEALTH BEHAVIOR; HEALTHCARE POLICY; PERCEPTIONS; REDUCED NICOTINE CONTENT; SPECTRUM CIGARETTES

Document Type: Research Article

Affiliations: 1: Assistant Research Professor, Penn State College of Nursing, Hershey, PA;, Email: [email protected] 2: Pre-Doctoral Scholar, Department of Public Health Sciences, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA 3: Research Coordinator, Department of Public Health Sciences, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA 4: Assistant Professor, Department of Community and Family Medicine, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA 5: Pre-doctoral Scholar, Department of Public Health Sciences, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA 6: Postdoctoral Scholar, De- partment of Public Health Sciences, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA 7: Project Manager, Department of Public Health Sciences, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA 8: Professor of Public Health Sciences and Biostatistics Core Director, Department of Public Health Sciences, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA 9: Research Technologist, Department of Public Health Sciences, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA 10: Laboratory Manager, Department of Public Health Sciences, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA 11: Director of the Center for Addiction Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 12: Professor of Public Health Sciences and Pharmacology, Department of Public Health Sciences, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA 13: Professor of Public Health Sciences, Department of Public Health Sciences, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA 14: Associate Dean, Prevention and Community Health, Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University, Washington, DC 15: Professor of Public Health Sciences and Psychiatry, Department of Public Health Sciences, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA

Publication date: 01 March 2019

More about this publication?

  • The American Journal of Health Behavior seeks to improve the quality of life through multidisciplinary health efforts in fostering a better understanding of the multidimensional nature of both individuals and social systems as they relate to health behaviors.

    The Journal aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the impact of personal attributes, personality characteristics, behavior patterns, social structure, and processes on health maintenance, health restoration, and health improvement; to disseminate knowledge of holistic, multidisciplinary approaches to designing and implementing effective health programs; and to showcase health behavior analysis skills that have been proven to affect health improvement and recovery.

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