ARTICLE

Menthol cigarettes account for a sizeable majority of cigarettes smoked by African American smokers but only a minority among whites (1). Incidence rates of lung cancer have long been known to be higher among black men compared with white men for reasons that are not yet clear (2,3). Smoking prevalence has historically been slightly higher among black men com-pared with white men, but the number of cigarettes smoked per day is generally lower (1,4), so that differential smoking amounts do not readily explain the racial disparity in lung can-cer risk. The use of menthol cigarettes has been hypothesized as a contributor to this disparity, although empirical evidence for a higher cancer risk among menthol vs nonmenthol cigarettes has been surprisingly limited (5–11). There have been some suggestions that mentholation may affect cigarette smoking behavior (eg, inhalation), dependency, and/or biology, and tha