New research from the Tobacco Dependence Clinic at the Dentistry of New Jersey’s School of Public Health has gone to show why quitting smoking this resolution season might be harder for some smokers than others.

The study shows that people who smoke menthol brand cigarettes have a lower success rate at quitting the habbit than those who smoke traditional flavored cigarettes. This is particularly problematic for the African American and Latino communities, who prefer menthol cigarettes over full flavored brands.

Kunal Gandhi, the author of this new study and a researcher of addiction psychology states: “We previously found that menthol cigarette smokers take in more nicotine and carbon monoxide per cigarette. This study shows that menthol smokers also find it harder to quit, despite smoking fewer cigarettes per day,”

Researchers for this project believe that the cooling flavour of the menthol cigarettes makes it more easy to inhale more nicotine per puff. As such, smokers of menthols obtain a much stronger and more addictive dose of nicotine than smokers of traditional cigarettes.

Jonathan Foulds, the director for the Tobacco Dependence Program stated that more than 80% of African American smokers who attended his center smoked menthol cigarettes. Additionally, the menthol smokers demonstrate half of the quit rate of other African American smokers who prefer traditional cigarettes. The problems associated with the continued abuse of menthol cigarettes, coupled with the higher doses of nicotine could account for why African Americans have much higher rates of lung cancer, Foulds concluded.

Researchers were also concerned about the effects of smoking menthol cigarettes with a growing number of Latino smokers. They consider that the tobacco industry could be marketing menthol cigarettes to smokers of less affluent backgrounds as they consider they will become hooked on the habit by smoking less cigarettes per day.

The report will be published in next month’s edition of the International Journal of Clinical Practice.