Black smokers view menthols as ‘soothing,’ ‘smooth’
African-American smokers in Atlanta told researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that they view menthol cigarettes as refreshing and somewhat less dangerous, according to a study published earlier this year in the journal Ethnicity & Health.
Among other views expressed by the 54 adult smokers in small focus-group discussions:
—- Taste was the main reason they chose menthol cigarettes. “With a nonmenthol, I have to pull on it and a bunch of smoke has to go in before I taste it. But with the menthol, it’s just puff and you go,” one participant said.
—- Because they were viewed as less harsh, menthol cigarettes sometimes delayed attempts to quit smoking. “The reason I started smoking menthol was because the regulars were so strong, and instead of me quitting, I was trying to find some means of getting around that, so I went to menthol,” one participant said. Some said switching to a nonmenthol brand was a way to encourage quitting.
—- Menthol cigarettes were seen as soothing and smooth; and they were ranked as less dangerous than nonmenthols, which were viewed as strong or harsh.
—- Most of the participants noted that African-Americans smoke menthols; whites smoke nonmenthols. A participant gave this perception: “Your typical white person smokes the nonmenthol. … Typical white folks, they smoke Marlboro, Camel, Winston.”
Three out of four black smokers prefer menthol cigarettes, compared with about a quarter of white smokers, other research has found. And there’s concern among public health officials about whether menthol may contribute to disease or addiction among minority smokers, though the science on these issues remains inconclusive.
The purpose of the Atlanta discussions was to generate hypotheses that could lead to future research, the CDC journal article said.
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