Posted on 04/02/2009 10:37:02 PM PDT by nickcarraway
With the increase in cigarette tax and the cost of cigarettes officially being much more expensive, it's the perfect time to focus on ways to stop smoking.
For many, particularly African Americans who smoke menthol cigarettes, that may be a difficult task.
According to researchers, menthol cigarettes are harder to quit, particularly among African American and Latino smokers.
That is the finding of a study which examined the effects of menthol on quit rates among a diverse group of nearly 1,700 smokers attending a Tobacco Dependence Clinic at the UMDNJ-School of Public Health.
We previously found that menthol cigarette smokers take in more nicotine and carbon monoxide per cigarette. This study shows that menthol smokers also find it harder to quit, despite smoking fewer cigarettes per day, said study author Kunal Gandhi, MBBS, MPH, a researcher in the division of addiction psychiatry at the UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
Jonathan Foulds, director of the Tobacco Dependence Program, added These results build on growing evidence suggesting that menthol is not a neutral flavoring in cigarettes. It masks the harshness of the nicotine and toxins, affects the way the cigarette is smoked and makes it more deadly and addictive.
According to Foulds, More than 80 percent of the African American smokers attending our clinic smoke menthols, and they have half the quit rate of African Americans who smoke non-menthol cigarettes.
The researchers believe the cooling effect of the menthol makes it easier to inhale more nicotine from each cigarette and, therefore, to obtain a stronger and more addictive nicotine dose. That may be part of the reason why African Americans have much higher rates of lung cancer, Foulds said.
The researchers also are concerned that more young and Latino smokers are becoming addicted to menthol cigarettes. The tobacco industry may target its marketing of menthol cigarettes to groups with less cash to spend, such as youths, with the aim of getting them hooked even on fewer cigarettes per day, they said.
In addition to the rise in cigarette tax, today April 1st marks the 39th anniversary of the Cigarette Advertising Ban of 1970. That day, President Richard Nixon signed the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act that banned TV and radio cigarette ads. However, cigarette manufacturers continue to find ways to market their products.
Recently, Black leaders in California called on the tobacco industry to stop targeting their community with the promotion of menthol cigarettes and deceptive advertising. Menthol cigarettes are not more toxic than regular cigarettes, but the mint flavor and cooling sensation makes them more enticing and easier to smoke, paving the road to nicotine addiction.
NIDA News Release
Quitting Smoking Harder for Women than for Men
Review of Research Finds Variety of Reasons for Why It Is Harder for Women to Break Free of Nicotine Addiction
A review of numerous research studies focusing on smoking cessation has concluded that while women may suffer greater relative risks of smoking-related diseases than do men, they tend to have less success than men in quitting smoking. Dr. Kenneth A. Perkins from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine who conducted the review offers several reasons for this disparity in a paper published in the May 2001 issue of CNS Drugs.
I kicked a 3 pack a day habit 12 years ago...
Can you imagine three packs a day at $6.00 dollars a pack?
I bet smoking isn’t as social as it used to be when you would offer everyone else a smoke from your pack.
LSMFT
I suspect it’s not...
You’re sure right...I couldn’t afford to smoke like that nowadays...even before the new cigarette tax...
But I will say, my lungs behave better and seem happier without all that smoke....
Whataload!
"Kool."
Is it time to start sending newports to Stikny B Hussein0?
Excuses serve no one.
My husband quit chewing tobacco a year and a half ago after over 50 years. He says he misses it very bad but he isn’t going to start again. Congratulations on quiting smoking. All four of our parents and all their siblings were heavy smokers and they all paid the price. I hope you are well and stay that way.
You forgot to put BARF alert...
I've had 4 root canals and I've quit smoking. Quitting smoking is much harder. Root canals are completely painless, I fell asleep during 2 of them. If you have pain during the procedure, you're seeing the wrong dentist.
Man I really hosed that last reply. Sorry about the formatting, forgot my break.
Serious question for all.
I have been studying drug and alcohol rehab programs and have found that inpatient detox includes “calming” drugs to help with withdrawal symptoms.
Why isn’t there an inpatient detox for smokers? Maybe pop someone a valium or something on the first few days to keep them calm and go from there? The first 24 to 72 hours are the hardest, right? Why are smokers on their own to quit?
Well, duh! It’s all whitey’s fault of course!
Even that will go away after awhile. Smoked for 25 years and quit 12 years ago (cessation program at work, with the patch). It bothered me at first but now I don't even think about it. In fact, being around a smoker now is unpleasant because of the stink that hangs on clothing and hair. Never noticed it when I was using, it numbs out your nose.
Then why has the FDA exempted menthol from regulation???
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