"I believe these menthol-flavored products represent one of the most common and pernicious routes by which kids initiate on combustible cigarettes. The menthol serves to mask some of the unattractive features of smoking that might otherwise discourage a child from smoking. Moreover, I believe that menthol products disproportionately and adversely affect underserved communities. And as a matter of public health, they exacerbate troubling disparities in health related to race and socioeconomic status that are a major concern of mine."
The presence of menthol in cigarettes leads to a cooling, numbing sensation in the throat that counteracts the telltale burning of traditional cigarettes, creating a more comfortable puffing experience, Flores says.“Menthol will make you inhale more. The more you smoke, the greater your chances of getting cancer,” Flores says. Indeed, menthol smokers took bigger, longer puffs compared to people lighting up non-menthols, per a 2017 study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Still, Flores adds that doctors can’t say definitively that menthol cigarettes cause more cancers. And one study in Circulation in 2016 found that menthols also did not increase someone’s risk of cardiovascular disease more than regular cigarettes did (rather, they were both bad). Another 2011 FDA review concluded that menthols aren’t more harmful than regular cigs. “…Both cigarettes produce significant negative effects on health outcomes, including respiratory disease, cardiovascular outcomes, and cancer,” author Allison C. Hoffman writes.“Menthol smokers show greater signs of nicotine dependence and are less likely to successfully quit smoking. These findings, combined with the evidence indicating that menthol’s cooling and anesthetic properties can reduce the harshness of cigarette smoke and the evidence indicating that menthol cigarettes are marketed as a smoother alternative to non-menthol cigarettes, make it likely that menthol cigarettes pose a public health risk above that seen with non-menthol cigarettes.”