Tobacco industry used cigarette menthol to recruit new adolescents and young adult smokers

Researchers at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) have found that tobacco companies have deliberately adjusted menthol levels in cigarettes to recruit and addict young smokers by creating a milder experience for the firsttime smoker. Menthol masks the harshness and irritation of cigarettes, allowing delivery of an effective dose of nicotine, the addictive chemical in cigarettes. These milder products were then marketed to the youngest potential consumers. The HSPH paper, “Tobacco Industry Control of Menthol in Cigarettes and Targeting of Adolescents and Young Adults,” appears in the online First Look section of the American Journal of Public Health in advance of publication in the September issue.read more

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