A study conducted by researchers at the American Health Foundation in Valhalla, N.Y., found that black participants had substantially higher levels of cancer-causing tobacco byproducts in their blood and urine than a similar group of white study participants.

"This suggests that exposure to tobacco smoke is higher in blacks than in whites, which could explain the higher lung-cancer rates," said lead investigator and foundation researcher Joshua Muscat.

For the study, researchers examined 167 black and 186 white smokers in the Westchester area. They also asked smokers how many cigarettes they smoked each day, what type of cigarettes they smoked, how deeply they inhaled, and how much of each cigarette they smoked.

The results indicated that blacks smoke fewer cigarettes per day than whites, but prefer cigarettes with higher nicotine and tar per cigarette.

However, the results did not explain the higher tobacco-byproduct levels in blacks. Researchers looked at smoking behavior, concluding that blacks inhale more deeply or take more puffs per cigarette.

To obtain more definitive results, the foundation will conduct a study where smokers will be observed in a lab.

The study's findings were presented at the recent annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.

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