And new research now shows menthol cigarettes may be harder to quit.
Recent studies have consistently found racial/ethnic minority smokers of menthol cigarettes have a lower quit rate than comparable smokers of regular cigarettes, particularly among younger smokers.
One possible reason suggested in the report is that the menthol effect is influenced by economic factors -- less affluent smokers are more affected by price increases, forcing them to consume fewer cigarettes per day.
But users who smoke menthols are able to keep up the habit, even if they have to cut back.
Researchers speculate menthol cigarettes may provide higher levels of carbon monoxide, nicotine and cotinine per cigarette smoked than regular cigarettes, so smokers who favor menthol can still get their fix, even with fewer cigarettes.
"Menthol stimulates cold receptors, so it produces a cooling sensation. This effect may help smokers inhale more nicotine per cigarette and so become more addicted," said Jonathan Foulds, Ph.D., professor, Public Health Sciences, Penn State College of Medicine, and an author of the report.
Foulds said menthol, basically "helps the poison go down easier."
"The smoker who has reduced their cigarette consumption typically compensates by increasing inhalation per cigarette. Menthol in cigarettes makes the smoke less harsh, enabling these smokers to obtain a larger and more reinforcing nicotine hit," he said.
The researchers, who published their results in a special issue of the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research, reviewed the evidence from 10 published studies that compared smoking cessation rates or proportions between mentholated and regular cigarette smokers.
Not all of the studies included in the report found an effect of menthol on quitting, and no studies to date have been specifically designed to look at menthol and cessation, but the effects of menthol on quitting were larger in more recent studies, in younger smokers and largely restricted to African-American and Latino smokers.
