Menthol is a synthetic admixture, artificially produced from mint oil. Neither cigarettes, nor tobacco contain natural mint, only the smoking paper or a filter may be soaked with menthol to impart a flavor to cigarettes. No doubt that mint cigarettes are as much harmful, as regular cigarettes. The last data provided mint cigarettes to be even more insidious and harmful, than cigarettes without mint. Many experts consider, that milder and more chilling taste of mint cigarettes make smokers take a long drag on the cigarette, and inhale more dangerous substances in their lungs. Inhaling smoke deeply, they smoke faster and more cigarettes for the shorter period of time.
The investigators think it is connected with the ability of mint cigarettes to produce refreshing effect, due to which they seem to be more delicious, than regular cigarettes. But this feeling is absolutely deceptive.
Nevertheless, despite of doctors warning, the popularity of mint cigarettes among young ladies is constantly growing. It is connected with the bigger number of cigarettes they smoke, as the research has shown. Therefore such cigarettes become addictive faster, than the common tobacco goods. Another popular cigarette flavors – vanilla, strawberry, apple, chocolate etc - produce the similar effect.
The scientists found out, that smoking mint cigarettes makes nicotine and tobacco tars get into blood faster, than smoking regular cigarettes. This happens, because the mint cigarettes irritate receptors of tunica mucosa of mouth, resulting the broadening of coronary vessels and bronchial tubes. As a result smokers of mint cigarettes suffer from such consequences as chronic bronchitis, emphysema and lung cancer more often. These deseases will declare themselves much earlier by admirers of mint cigarettes, than by smokers of regular cigarettes.
Besides that, the scientists discovered that people smoking mint cigarettes found it more difficult to get rid of tobacco addiction, than people, who preferred regular cigarettes. This conclusion was drawn by Dr. Mark Pletcher together with his colleagues from University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) on the basis of results of 15-years-long investigation, which one thousand and a half smokers took part in.
One of the reasons, as he thinks, is a “better taste” together with refreshing effect, similar to local anesthesia, which makes the smoker enjoy the cigarette better. It is also possible, that menthol make a breath-holding longer and influence on nicotine metabolism, the concentration of which in blood increases thereby. Under the data received, the scientists concluded, that “mint smokers” need more social and medical help, when they try to leave off the bad habit of smoking. The chances they begin to smoke again are twice as much, as the “regular smokers”.
“Enjoy lightness! Delightful taste and low content of tar and nicotine!” - suggests us the advertisement. Why really not? Because “light” cigarettes are no less harmful, as the regular ones, the scientists assert. Such terms as “light” and “mild” considerably mislead the consumers.
Such cigarettes contain usual tobacco, and the most part of it is produced of waste tobacco leaf. The main difference between tobacco goods called “light” and its “more heavier relatives” is in the structure of filter, or to be more precise – in special ventilation microholes and layers, made of special material (cellulose acetate, activated carbon etc), able to hold some amount of tars. From time to time we can hear about some new super filter for light cigarettes, invented by some tobacco manufacturers. It is said, this filter can absorb all toxins, containing in the smoke. Such information is just the advertising trick, having nothing in common with the true facts.
Among the light cigarettes there are special kinds of tobacco goods created for female target group. They are slim cigarettes for ladies. The producers of such cigarettes pay great attention on the appearance of a pack, because it is considered to be one of the most significant criteria of choosing cigarettes, as they think. For many ladies smoking slims is a part of their image. The common mistake about harmless of such cigarettes is one of the reasons, why the fair sex smokes them.
Special filter and thin diameter of a slim cigarette make the person puff more frequently, than by smoking strong tobacco goods, and smoke the cigarette up to the very filter, where the majority of dangerous substances gather.
At that the organism gets filled with nicotine far slowly, and you feel like smoking one more cigarette. Microholes located round the circle of cigarette, must decrease the number of bad substances getting into organism at the expense of ventilation, but in most cases they are closed by the fingers of smoker and don’t perform their function.
Decreased amount of nicotine and tar in such cigarettes doesn’t satisfy the smoker, and he smokes two cigarettes instead of one, or starts smoking more often. At that he thinks, he is smoking light cigarettes, therefore there is no harm for his health in doing that.
Resume: light cigarettes are nothing, but marketing ploy of tobacco industry, invented to make people think, that manufacturers care of men’s health by producing such cigarettes. Internal documents of tobacco industry tell us about few advantages for health of such low-tar, light and mild cigarettes. In 1971 the documents of British American Tobacco were declassified. It was written there, that the operative management of the company was waiting from light cigarettes with low nicotine and tar content a high level of sales. The question whether these cigarettes were less dangerous or not – was of no importance for them.
According to research conducted by the American Cancer Society, smoking light cigarettes may cause adenocarcinoma (a specific kind of lung cancer), because the smokers of light cigarettes make a longer and deeper inhale to get enough nicotine, and thus increase the influence of smoke on their lungs.