Are menthol cigarettes worse for you?

“Menthol cigarettes are as dangerous as non-menthol cigarettes and cigarettes are the No. 1 cause of heart disease, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease , and other diseases.” Regardless of whether you smoke menthol or non-menthol, “set a date after which you will be an ex-smoker,” he says. read more

But the menthol smokers had more frequent severe exacerbations: 0.22 per year, versus 0.18 per year among smokers of regular tobacco cigarettes. The menthol smokers also did worse on a test of how far they could walk in six minutes, and they were more short of breath than people who smoked regular cigarettes. read more

"For a variety of historical and cultural reasons, including targeted advertising by the tobacco industry, African American smokers are much more likely to smoke menthol cigarettes than European American smokers (approximately 70 percent vs. 30 percent)," according to the authors of a new report. read more