Menthol and Nonmenthol Cigarette Smoking: All-Cause Deaths, Cardiovascular Disease Deaths, and Other Causes of Death Among Blacks and Whites.

In contrast to whites, black smokers prefer menthol cigarettes over nonmenthol cigarettes by a large margin and tend to have higher mortality from several smoking-related diseases than whites, raising the possibility that menthol cigarettes contribute to racial disparities in risk. Evidence for differential associations between menthol and nonmenthol cigarettes indicates lower cancer risk for menthol smokers, but for cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality, evidence has been inconsistent.