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Tonya
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Tonya
Post Number: 3209
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, September 26, 2006 - 06:58 pm: | 
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Cool Menthol Makes It Harder to Quit Smoking
By Kathy Jones
Sep 26, 2006, 16:25
26 Sep, (foodconsumer.org) - Its hard to quit smoking, but people who smoke menthol brands find it even tougher to quit, according to a new study. The study is particularly relevant among African-Americans, since it is estimated that 70 percent of all menthol smokers are black.
Black people tend to smoke less than whites, but the rates of cancer, cardiovascular disease and other smoking-related illnesses are considerably higher than whites in this group, according to the background information on the study. Researchers aimed to find out if menthol cigarettes were the cause for this disparity.
While the study found no differences in the health risks conferred by menthol cigarettes as compared to non-menthol ones, it did find that menthol smokers found it tougher to quit.
The findings of the study called the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) appear in the Sept. 25 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. It involved data collected on 1,535 smokers involved in CARDIA. Some 808 participants were women, while 727 were male.
Researchers looked at presence of possible links between quitting smoking and using menthol brands. Additionally calcium build-up in the arteries was also measured. This is a significant parameter as it has the potential to lead to coronary-artery disease and changes in lung function.
"We were interested to see if menthol cigarettes were more harmful than non-menthol cigarettes," said lead researcher Dr. Mark J. Pletcher, an assistant adjunct professor of epidemiology at the University of California, San Francisco.
Pletcher's team found that 63 percent of the study group preferred menthol cigarettes, while 36 percent preferred non-menthol cigarettes. More importantly 89 percent of black participants favored menthol brands as against 29 percent of whites.
The study found that people who smoked menthols were more likely to be young, female and unemployed. Researchers said that people who smoked menthol cigarettes in 1985 were still smoking in 2000. Specifically 69 percent of menthol smokers were still smokers, compared with 54 percent of non-menthol smokers.
"Menthol smokers were less likely to quit and more likely to relapse," Pletcher said. Researchers also found that menthol smokers had a 27% increase in the risk of coronary calcification, while non-menthol smokers had a 33% increased risk.. Non-smokers were used as a control group in the study.
Over a 10-year period, menthol smokers had a pulmonary function decline of 84 milliliters, while non-menthol smokers declined 80 milliliters. Researchers said neither of these two differences was statistically significant.
"We found that menthol cigarettes don't appear to be any more harmful than non-menthol cigarettes," Pletcher said. "However, there is some evidence that they may be harder to quit." Researchers are not too sure why menthols make it harder to quit smoking.
One theory is that menthols exert a cooling and calming effect on the smoker, making him/her feel more comfortable, thus conveying the impression that its hard to quit when you are comfortable, researchers explained.
"They're more pleasant to smoke," Pletcher said, "but there's also some evidence that menthol inhibits the metabolism of nicotine." The study was a pointer to the fact that those who smoke menthols may need more support to quit, he added.
Addiction to tobacco smoking is the number one habit in the world. It is a notoriously difficult one to curb since the nicotine in the cigarette smoke binds to nicotinic receptors in the brain.
These receptors in turn stimulate the reward pathway in brain circuitry. The activation of this pathway gives a pleasurable and contented feeling, which gradually transforms into a vicious cycle of craving and withdrawal.
The World Health Organization says that smoking tobacco products are addictive, harmful and can cause death, regardless of the form, packaging, or name under which they are presented to the public.
The WHO says that tobacco usage is responsible for five million deaths each year. It is the cause of 90 per cent of lung cancer cases and is linked to many other types of cancer, such as cervical or kidney cancer, as well as emphysema, bronchitis, asthma and other respiratory diseases.
If the current usage trends continue, it is estimated that by 2020 7 out of every 10 tobacco-related deaths will be in the developing world.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention there are an estimated 44.5 million adults who smoke in the US. Among them 8.6 million have had a tryst with smoking-related illness. Smoking is the prime culprit in many respiratory diseases including lung cancer.
The National Center For Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion says that smoking cause damage to the respiratory system, addiction to nicotine, and the associated risk of other drug use. Smokers are also more likely to report ill health than non-smokers.
The current study tried to examine the relation if any between menthol brands of cigarettes and increased mortality rates in blacks. However Dr. Norman H. Edelman, a scientific consultant for the American Lung Association said the study did not conclusively prove that menthol cigarettes are either more or less dangerous than regular cigarettes.
"The statistics in the study seem weak," he said. "The authors themselves realize that a definitive conclusion of 'no difference' [between the types of cigarettes] would have required a larger sample size."
Even Pletcher's team seems to think so since in conclusion, the authors said, "The primary goal of public health officials, physicians, and patients should be to reduce all tobacco smoke exposure regardless of menthol content."
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Mzuri
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Mzuri
Post Number: 1600
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, September 26, 2006 - 07:17 pm: |
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Don't nobody smoke around here but you, butt breath  |
Renata
Veteran Poster
Username: Renata
Post Number: 1351
Registered: 08-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, September 26, 2006 - 08:30 pm: |
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Tonya, I quit smoking in TWO DAYS thanks to a friend of mine in England who does Usui Reiki.
Seriously!
I HATE menthol. |
Ntfs_encryption
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Ntfs_encryption
Post Number: 770
Registered: 10-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, September 26, 2006 - 08:59 pm: |
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Best advice -don't ever start. Even though I detest cigarettes, as of late, I have become seriously addicted to smoking my pipe (don't go there! -I'm talking about smoking tobacco). I've been smoking a pipe for many years. It started when I was in college. I would do it off and on but with some regularity. And there were times when I would not do it at all for long stretches of time.
But since last year, I have become grossly addicted. I feel terrible about it and that is one of the reasons I don't stay at home a lot. I’ve made a habit of smoking only at home. I refuse to do it any where else. So when I'm not at home - I don't do it.
I just got back from the Monterey Jazz Fest last week and I purposely did not take it with me. I went six days without it. No problem. As soon as I got home, lighting up a bowl was the first thing I did! I know I'm sick and need help. Again, if ya don't smoke -PLEASE DON'T EVER START! IT’S A HORRIBLE ADDICTION!
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Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 5246
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, September 26, 2006 - 09:23 pm: |
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Ummmmmmm Can you say Capri 120s MENTHOL? I smoke 3 a day. I'm entitled. |
Renata
Veteran Poster
Username: Renata
Post Number: 1352
Registered: 08-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, September 26, 2006 - 09:38 pm: |
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LOL....You strike me as a "Capri" girl.
I used to like Misty, Marlboro, and Basic...all in Ultra Light. |
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