What is menthol tobacco?

Whether it’s called mint or menthol, these “flavors” are added to cigarettes, vapes, chew, and other tobacco products to hook new tobacco users. The tobacco industry has used menthol and mint as a predatory tactic to keep smokers smoking and introduce new smokers to a new taste.

Menthol is derived from mint plants or synthetically produced1 for use in a variety of products, such as lip balm or cough medicine. But Big Tobacco exploits menthol’s cooling taste and sensation to addict youth and new smokers.1

Menthol added to cigarettes masks the harsh taste. It also numbs the throat making the toxic smoke making it easier to inhale.1 This makes it easier for new smokers to smoke.1 Unfortunately, it also allows smokers to inhale the smoke more deeply, which causes harmful particles to settle deeper inside the lungs.2

And that’s not all. Research shows that the sensory effects and flavor of menthol can also make cigarettes much harder to quit.3 People who smoke menthol cigarettes show greater signs of nicotine addiction and are less likely to successfully quit smoking than other smokers.45

There was a chance to stop Big Tobacco’s destructive use of menthol in 2009 when the federal government banned using flavors in cigarettes through the Tobacco Control Act. But Big Tobacco lobbied to keep menthol on the market – a huge loophole costing lives.

Sadly, while overall smoking decreased, the proportion of people using menthol cigarettes sharply increased compared to regular cigarettes. Menthol cigarette use is far more common among youth and young adults than regular cigarettes.6 It’s estimated that more than half of smokers between the ages of 12 and 17 smoke menthol cigarettes.5