Page 38 - October 2023 Issue.indd

Tips, Classes and
H ealth C orner Programs to help

you live healthier!

Studies have shown adding menthol If a menthol ban were in eff ect,
actually enhances the eff ects of research has projected 340,000 lives
nicotine, making those tobacco can be saved, a third of them being
products even more addictive. People Black individuals.
The Truth About Menthol Tobacco who smoke menthols have a harder
time quitting. Besides promoting a ban on menthol,
we can choose to quit using menthol
By Heather Grove, BSN, RN
Menthol cigarettes deliver the same tobacco products and encourage

Menthol can be found naturally in chemicals, often at even higher our friends and family members
peppermint plants or made in a lab. amounts, because the user can inhale to do the same. For free cessation
According to the Center for Disease more deeply allowing those chemicals assistance, visit https://quitnow.net/
Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly to get in and stay deeper into the lungs maryland?qnclient=maryland or call
all cigarettes commercially sold in the for a longer amount of time. Caroline County Health Department
United States contain some form of at 410-479-8080 to get connected to
Exposure to the 4,000 chemicals in
menthol. However, there is typically Maryland Quitline services.
more menthol in cigarettes marketed menthol cigarettes can cause the same
health problems including heart and
specially as “menthol” compared to October is Breast Cancer
lung problems, along with various
others that are not advertised as such. Awareness Month!
different types of cancers, just like

Menthol tobacco products are oft en regular cigarettes, even if they feel less Submitted by Leigh Marquess, RN
advertised as “smooth” or “cool” harsh to smoke.
Wellness Promotions, Caroline County
because menthol creates a cooling Health Department
Tobacco companies have aggressively
sensation in the mouth, throat, and
marketed menthol products to the
lungs making them easier to consume. This year in the USA it is estimated

African American community. that over 297,790 women will be

Besides cigarettes, menthol can also They’ve used Black models, focused diagnosed with invasive breast cancer
be found in e-cigarettes/vapes, cigars, on Cool Jazz, sports, imagery of strong (BRCA). About 55,720 new cases of
chewing tobacco and nicotine pouches. family ties and sense of belonging to ductal carcinoma insitu (DCIS) will
Menthol makes smoking easier and promote their products in the Black be diagnosed. This is non-invasive

more appealing to young people. community.
and the earliest form of BRCA. About
43,700 women will die from breast
Adding menthol may make smoking As a result of this predatory marketing,
feel less harsh but don’t be fooled, Blacks smoke menthols at nearly three cancer. In Maryland, an estimated
menthol cigarettes are just as dangerous times the rate as Whites and are more 5,760 women will be diagnosed and
as regular cigarettes. likely to die from smoking related 850 women will die from the disease.

illnesses. (Statistics from The American Cancer
Society.)
Some variations in breast cancer can
EXAMS & CERTIFICATES be seen between racial and ethnic
• Truck/Bus Drivers groups. For example,
• Basic Med for Pilots • The median age of diagnosis

• Coast Guard for Boaters is slightly younger for Black
• Pre-Op for Upcoming Surgery women (60 years old) compared
to White women (63 years old).
Board Certified
• Black women have the highest
Occupational Medicine death rate from breast cancer.

This is thought to be partially
C.E. Jensen, MD
because about 1 in 5 Black
Denton, MD 410-924-8560
38