Of the three leading causes of death in African Americans heart disease, cancer, and stroke smoking and other tobacco use are major contributors. Each year, approximately 45,000 African Americans die from a preventable smoking-related disease. If current trends continue, an estimated 1.6 million African Americans who are now under the age of 18 years will become regular smokers. About 500,000 of those smokers will die of a smoking-related disease. 5 Stroke is associated with cerebrovascular disease and is a major cause of death in the United States.
Smoking significantly elevates the risk of stroke.
The decline of smoking among African American young people during the 1970s and 1980s was widely viewed as a great public health success. Unfortunately, recent national surveys have shown that smoking rates among African American high school students are starting to increase, although those rates are still lower than those for other students. Approximately three of every four African American smokers prefer menthol cigarettes. Among whites, approximately a quarter of smokers prefer menthol cigarettes. Menthol may facilitate absorption of harmful cigarette smoke constituents.