Menthol’s tough breaks
MINTY menthols may have a cooling, anesthetic effect, but that sensation comes with a price. The flavored cigarettes could be harder to quit than regular cigarettes, a new study has found.
“Per cigarette, menthols are no more or less harmful than any other,” said Dr. Mark J. Pletcher, assistant professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at UC San Francisco and lead author of the study. “But menthol smokers may have a harder time quitting and may need some extra encouragement and support when they try to quit.”
A study of 1,200 smokers over 15 years found that 69% of people who smoked menthol cigarettes in 1985 were still smokers in 2000, while 54% of nonmenthol users still smoked. It also found that menthol smokers were almost twice as likely to relapse and were less likely to stop smoking for a sustained period of time.
Menthol’s cooling and anesthetic effect encourages people to hold their breath longer, which decreases nicotine metabolism and increases levels of addictive nicotine in the blood. The study was in the Sept. 25 edition of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
