Study Ties Menthol Cigarettes To Increased Smoking Among Teens

New research found that teens that use menthol cigarettes are likely to smoke more cigarettes per day compared to their peers who smoke non-menthol cigarettes.

The new finding from the Propel Centre for Population Health Impact at the University of Waterloo  highlighted a strong association between use of menthol cigarettes and an increase in the rate of addiction to nicotine in teens.

"The appeal of menthol cigarettes among youth stems from the perception that they are less harmful than regular cigarettes. The minty taste helps mask the noxious properties, but the reality is that they are just as dangerous as any unflavoured cigarette," said Sunday Azagba, a scientist at Propel and lead author on the paper.

The researchers found that on an average the menthol users smoked nearly 43 cigarettes a week i.e. twice the non-menthol users who smoked 26 cigarettes a week. It was the menthol smokers who were three times more vulnerable to continue smoking in later years.

Despite the health risks linked with tobacco use, the study claims that 1 in 10 Canadian high school students from Grade 10-12 are current smokers and majority of the long-term adult smokers begin this addictive habit in their adolescence. According to the National Youth Smoking Survey, 32 percent of the smokers in high school smoke menthol.

"There is a growing concern that the high popularity of menthol cigarettes among youth may hinder the recent progress in preventing other young people from smoking because many of them may experiment with menthol rather than unflavoured brands," said Azagba.

A strict ban was implemented in July 2012 in Canada on the sale of almost all flavored cigarettes, blunt wraps as well as cigars, but there was no ban on menthol.

"Our findings indicate that youth smoking of menthol cigarettes is a serious concern," said Azagba. "It's clear moving forward that we need new laws to ban all added flavours in all tobacco products."

The finding was documented in Cancer Causes and Control.