People who smoke menthol cigarettes were more likely to have a history of stroke than smokers who prefer regular cigarettes, an analysis of federal health survey data indicated.

Among 5,167 current smokers participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2001 to 2008, those who reported that they usually smoke menthol cigarettes were more than twice as likely to have had a stroke as those smoking nonmenthol cigarettes, according to Nicholas Vozoris, MD, MHSc, of St. Michael’s Hospital and Queen’s University in Toronto.

Vozoris calculated an odds ratio of 2.25 for a history of stroke among the menthol versus nonmenthol cigarette smokers (95% CI 1.33 to 3.78), according to his research letter published in the April 9 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

‘These results highlight the need for further review of the last legally allowed tobacco additive in North America, given that mentholated cigarettes may be placing individuals at even greater risk of potentially devastating cerebrovascular disease than regular cigarettes,’ Vozoris wrote.

Much of the difference was seen among women and whites, he found.

The odds ratio for stroke history among female menthol cigarette smokers was 3.28 (95% CI 1.74 to 6.19) and among non-African-Americans — who were predominantly white — […]