Menthol can relax tracheal smooth muscle, reduce its sensory stimulation, and cover up some respiratory symptoms, which will lead to involuntary inhalation of more harmful gases, which may increase the absorption of nicotine in the body and reduce the metabolism of cotinine, so that people who smoke mint cigarettes have higher cotinine content and higher dependence on nicotine, that is, more addiction. Whether it is ordinary cigarettes or mint cigarettes, it is recommended to quit as soon as possible to avoid serious consequences such as lung cancer.
For decades, the active marketing of mint cigarettes has led to a serious health gap between African Americans and other marginalized groups.
Menthol was added to cigarettes for the first time and was introduced to the market as a "healthier and safer" substitute. Menthol is a naturally occurring compound in plants, such as mint, which can produce a cool feeling-such as common mint toothpaste and mint chewing gum. But unlike those safe products, menthol in cigarettes can "mask" dangerous chemicals.
Menthol makes the smoke feel smoother in the throat, opens the respiratory tract, and has slight anesthetic properties. It not only makes people easier to smoke, but also encourages people to inhale more deeply, thus getting more exposed to the toxic components in tobacco smoke, which contains more than 7,000 chemicals, hundreds of which may be carcinogenic or harmful. JudithZelikoff, a professor of environmental medicine at Grossman Medical College of new york University, said that these toxic compounds can damage cardiovascular system, kidneys, brain and respiratory system. "So you don't just get menthol from cigarettes."