If you regularly smoke menthol cigarettes you may well find it harder to give up smoking than if are a regular non-menthol smoker, say researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, USA. Menthol cigarette advertising is targeted at African-Americans, 89% of African-American smokers smoke menthol, compared to 29% of European Americans. This is probably the reason why African-Americans are more likely to die from smoking-related diseases, when compared to European Americans, say the researchers.

The researchers wrote, "Mentholation of cigarettes does not seem to explain disparities in ischemic heart disease and obstructive pulmonary disease between African-Americans and European Americans in the United States, but may partially explain lower rates of smoking cessation among African-American smokers. It is possible, therefore, that switching from menthol cigarettes to non-menthol cigarettes may facilitate subsequent smoking cessation, especially in African-Americans, and thereby reduce tobacco-related health disparities."

The researchers looked at 1,535 smokers, of which over 60% preferred menthol cigarettes, the rest preferred regular cigarettes. The study participants were examined for lung function and calcium build-up in the arteries - the first examination took place in 1985, the second in 2000.

The researchers found that those who regularly smoked menthol cigarettes in 1985 were much more likely still to be smoking in 2000. They also found that lung function decline and calcium build up in the arteries was the same for menthol and regular cigarette smokers during that period. The reason African-Americans have a greater chance of dying from smoking related diseases is that they are much less likely to give up, they say.

Menthol Cigarettes, Smoking Cessation, Atherosclerosis, and Pulmonary Function
The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study
Mark J. Pletcher, MD, MPH; Benjamin J. Hulley; Thomas Houston, MD; Catarina I. Kiefe, MD, PhD; Neal Benowitz, MD; Stephen Sidney, MD, MPH
Arch Intern Med. 2006;166:1915-1922.
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