Moderate black smokers are more likely to get lung cancer than whites, Hispanics, or Asians who smoke the same amounts, suggesting a genetic role in susceptibility to the disease, the Associated Press reported Jan. 25.

Researchers led by Christopher Haiman of the University of Southern California reported that the results only applied to smokers who consumed up to a pack of cigarettes daily; heavier smokers contracted lung cancer at about the same rate regardless of race.

The study of 180,000 people found that whites who smoked up to a pack of cigarettes per day had a 43-55 percent lower risk of getting lung cancer than blacks who smoked the same amount. Hispanics and Asians who smoked the same amounts had a 60-80 percent lower risk of cancer than blacks.

Apart from genetics, smoking habits may play a role in blacks' increased cancer risk, since studies have shown that black smokers -- many of whom prefer menthol cigarettes -- inhale more deeply than other smokers. Some studies have also shown that blacks absorb more nicotine and other carcinogens than smokers from other races, a predisposition that may have genetic roots.

The research was published in the Jan. 26, 2006 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.