Not so Cool? Menthol’s discovered actions on the nicotinic receptor and its implications for nicotine addiction

Abstract

Nicotine cigarette smoke is a large public health burden worldwide, contributing to various types of disease. Anti-tobacco media campaigns and control programs have significantly reduced smoking in the United States, yet trends for menthol cigarette smoking have not been as promising. Menthol cigarette smoking is particularly prevalent among young adults and African Americans, with implications for long-term impacts on health care. Continuing high rates of menthol cigarette addiction call into question the role of menthol in nicotine addiction. To date, a biological basis for the high rate of addiction and relapse among menthol cigarette smokers has not been defined. Studies have demonstrated a role for menthol in the metabolism of nicotine in the body. More recent findings now reveal an interaction between menthol and the nicotinic acetylcholine (nACh) receptor in cells. This receptor is central to the actions of nicotine in the brain, and plays an important role in nicotine addiction. The newly discovered effect of menthol on nACh receptors may begin to explain the unique addictive properties of menthol cigarettes.

Cardiovascular Health in African Americans: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association

“…One hypothesis for the lower quit rates among African Americans than whites is that they are more likely to use menthol smoking products, which enhance the addictive potential of nicotine. 109 Tobacco companies target the marketing of mentholated products to African Americans (and youth), 110 and among those smokers switching from mentholated to nonmentholated products, African Americans are more likely to revert back to the use of mentholated products. 111 Data from the Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey report greater use of mentholated products among African American smokers (71%; 95% CI, 70.4-73.2) than white (21.0%; 95% CI, 20.5-21.4) or Hispanic (28.1%; 95% CI, 26.6-29.7) smokers.…”

Tobacco Products

“…• Tütün dumanındaki; karbon monoksit ve diğer toksinlere sistemik maruziyeti arttırdığını göster-miştir (9) . Ayrıca, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri Gıda ve İlaç Dairesi "Food and Drug Administration ( FDA)" mentollü sigaraların, normal sigaralardan daha zararlı olduğu-nu açıklamıştır.…”

An Inventory of Methods for the Assessment of Additive Increased Addictiveness of Tobacco Products: Table 1.

“…A study using smokers whereby nicotine and its metabolite cotinine were analyzed after smoking cigarette with or without menthol showed inhibition of nicotine metabolism upon mentholated cigarette smoking. 88 , 89 …”