Cigarettes and Tobacco News

Sep 27, 2006 -- CHICAGO - Smokers of menthol cigarettes find it harder to quit than those smoking regular cigarettes, researchers have said, perhaps explaining why blacks in the United States suffer disproportionately from smoking-related ailments.

For a variety of historical and cultural reasons, including targeted advertising, about 70 percent of black smokers smoke menthol cigarettes such as Kool or Newport compared to about 30 percent of white smokers, said the study, which was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

This, combined with the difficulty in kicking the menthol cigarette habit, could help researchers figure out why blacks in the United States have higher rates of cancer, heart disease and other smoking-related illnesses even though they generally smoke less, the study said.

The study, which looked at the smoking habits of 1,535 people over 15 years, did not determine why menthol cigarettes were harder to kick than regular tobacco cigarettes, said Dr. Mark Pletcher of the University of California, San Francisco, the lead author of the study.

"Beyond the obvious, that they're sort of more pleasant to smoke, there is some evidence that it (menthol) inhibits the metabolization of nicotine, the addictive component," he said in an interview.

"So it (nicotine) will last longer. You may get a bigger hit or a longer-lasting hit when you have menthol, though that is still speculation," he added.

Menthol "was associated with a lower likelihood of trying to quit in the first place," the study said. It added that menthol smokers, if they did quit, were almost twice as likely to relapse after trying to stop and also less likely to stop for a sustained period of time.

Pletcher's study of 808 women and 727 men found that 69 percent of those who smoked menthol cigarettes in 1985 were still smoking at follow-up examinations in 2000 compared to 54 percent of smokers who bought regular cigarettes.

The study said it found no evidence that peppermint oil-based menthol itself makes such cigarettes more dangerous.

"Menthol and non-menthol cigarettes seem to be equally harmful per cigarette smoked" in terms of heart disease and declines in lung function, the study concluded.