Recruiting

Menthol Cigarette Ban

Sponsor:

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Code:

NCT07458607

Conditions

Health Behavior

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 21+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Menthol ban + campaign

Menthol ban

Control

Study Details

Brief summary:

The main purpose of this trial is to evaluate the impact of a menthol cigarette ban accompanied by a quit smoking campaign on tobacco purchasing behavior. Investigators will conduct a randomized clinical trial with \~1,185 US adults (ages 21+ years) who currently smoke menthol cigarettes.

Conditions

Health Behavior

Study ID

NCT07458607

Start date

Apr 20, 2026

Status verified date

Mar, 2026

Completion date

Apr, 2028

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Apr, 2028

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 21+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Are ages 21 years and older
  • Smoke cigarettes currently (i.e. currently smoke some days or every day and have smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime)
  • Smoke menthol cigarettes
  • Purchased menthol cigarettes in a store in the past month
  • Read and speak English
  • Can complete a survey on a computer without help
  • Can receive images by text message
  • Can attend 2 in-person appointments involving shopping tasks and computer surveys

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Are pregnant
  • Are breastfeeding
  • Enrolled currently in another research study about quitting smoking

Study Design

Enrollment

1185 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Prevention

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Menthol ban + campaign

experimental: Menthol ban

other: Control

Interventions

Menthol ban + campaign

Menthol cigarettes and flavored little cigars and cigarillos will not be available for purchase in the store. Participants will receive quit smoking campaign ads via text message. These ads will also be displayed inside the store during the shopping tasks.

Menthol ban

Menthol cigarettes and flavored little cigars and cigarillos will not be available for purchase in the store. Participants will receive control ads about a neutral topic (i.e., password security) via text message. These ads will also be displayed inside the store during the shopping tasks.

Control

Menthol cigarettes and flavored little cigars and cigarillos will be available for purchase in the store. Participants will receive control ads about a neutral topic (i.e., password security) via text message. These ads will also be displayed inside the store during the shopping tasks.

Primary outcome measure

  • Purchasing any combustible tobacco products [ Time Frame: Assessed 2 times approximately 1-week apart, starting on the day of enrollment. ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Locations

UNC Mini Mart

Recruiting

Raleigh, North Carolina, United States, 27609

Contacts

UNC Mini Mart Office UNC Mini Mart

919-966-0233minimartstudy@unc.edu

Principal Investigator:

Marissa Hall, PhD

More Information

Sponsor

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Last update posted

Apr 27, 2026

Last verified

Mar, 2026

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill on 2026-04-27.