Is It Harder For Black People To Quit Smoking? Here’s What The Experts Say

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in five Black American adults smoke cigarettes and another one in 10 Black teenagers smoke. Given how many illnesses are connected with smoking, it makes sense that a lot of them would want to quit. So why doesn’t it happen?  Why Black People Have Trouble Quitting Interestingly, research shows that about 73 percent of Black people express an interest in quitting and another 63 percent try to step away from cigarettes within the past year. Despite these high numbers, though, less than five percent of those who want to stop smoking were successful. One issue that the experts have identified may be the type of cigarettes that many Black Americans smoke. Almost 90 percent of Black people who smoke use menthol cigarettes and statistics show that people who smoke these cigarettes have a lower rate of quitting than those who don’t. Furthermore, almost 45 percent of Black people who smoke menthol cigarettes state that they’re more likely to try quitting if that kind of cigarette is no longer available. Health experts have suggested that people generally hold menthol cigarette smoke in their lungs longer and this increases their nicotine...