The chemical byproducts of nicotine linger longer in women who smoke menthol cigarettes, an Ohio State University study has found. Although the product that lingers in the body is not a known carcinogen, it is important to shed light on what causes tobacco byproducts to stay in the body, according to researchers.
Previous research suggested ethnicity could be a cause for cotinine–the major breakdown product of nicotine–to stay in the body longer, since blacks consistently register higher cotinine levels than white smokers, said study author Karen Ahijevych. But blacks also smoke more menthol cigarettes than do whites: 2 of 3 black smokers smoke menthols compared with only 1 in 4 white smokers.
The study analyzed 32 black and white women who had smoked an average of a pack of cigarettes daily for about 15 years.
When researchers compared the cotinine levels among black and white menthol cigarette smokers, the significant differences between white and black smokers disappeared, suggesting that cigarette preference rather than ethnicity was the cause for cotinine levels.
Why menthol cigarettes?
“It could be increased exposure to tobacco, because puff volume is significantly larger among menthol smokers,” Ahijevych said.
