Cigarette smoking is the primary cause of lung cancer and causes other cancers throughout the body. Smoking is the leading risk factor for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. Atherosclerosis leads to heart disease, stroke and peripheral artery disease. People who smoke have a reduced quality of life due to smoking-related illnesses and a shortened lifespan.
Menthol does not reduce the harmful effects of smoking. Rather, menthol makes it easier to start and become addicted -- and harder to quit. The Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee of the FDA recommended in 2011 that menthol cigarettes be removed from the marketplace. As of May 2015, this recommendation is still under review.