from Journal of the American Medical Association
Flavored tobacco products, such as menthol, tend to reduce the harsh effects of tobacco, making them popular among young people. For that and other reasons, the federal Food and Drug Administration is banning use of menthol in tobacco products. But, the tobacco industry is getting around that with synthetic chemicals that mimic menthol’s distinct cooling sensation. Researchers from Yale and Duke Universities wrote in the Journal of the American Medical Association they found the chemicals in four of nine brands of tobacco products. They say these facilitate inhalation of the other possibly more harmful elements of tobacco smoke and would seem incompatible with laws that forbid flavors in cigarettes to enhance their attractiveness.