Faculty of Medicine, Department of Immunopathology, Division of Biomedical Science, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland.
Toxicol Mech Methods. 2020 Oct;30(8):555-561. doi: 10.1080/15376516.2020.1805662. Epub 2020 Aug 14.
Menthol, which is a natural cyclic monoterpene alcohol with a minty smell, is one of the main constituents of essential oils that naturally occur in some aromatic plants, such as . This natural compound shows many biological properties, such as anesthetic, analgesic, antibacterial and antifungal, immunomodulating, and skin penetration-enhancing. It is added to a variety of goods, such as food, oral-care products, OTC products, cosmetics, and tobacco products. Menthol is not just a simple flavoring agent, especially when it comes to tobacco products. Its ability to 'mask' the negative effects of nicotine and its additional positive sensory effects makes it the most common additive in such products. For the customers, mentholated tobacco products may be mistakenly perceived as less harmful for health, which may increase their consumption. However, as the evidence shows, menthol cigarettes are no safer than conventional cigarettes and may lead to more frequent disease exacerbation during prolonged exposure to smoke from such products. In addition, because of its complex interactions with nicotine, menthol may affect smoking behavior and may increase addiction to nicotine. For those reasons, the European Union banned flavored cigarettes (whose sale size reached more than 3% of the total tobacco product market) by implementing the Tobacco Products Directive (2014/40/EU) on 20th May 2020. While the menthol ban was based on health concerns, the ultimate effect on consumers, regarding potential quitting, is yet to be determined.
薄荷醇是一种具有薄荷气味的天然环状单萜醇，是某些芳香植物中天然存在的精油的主要成分之一，例如薄荷。这种天然化合物具有许多生物特性，如麻醉、镇痛、抗菌和抗真菌、免疫调节和皮肤渗透增强。它被添加到各种商品中，如食品、口腔护理产品、非处方产品、化妆品和烟草产品。薄荷醇不仅仅是一种简单的调味剂，尤其是在烟草产品中。它能够“掩盖”尼古丁的负面影响及其额外的积极感官效果，使其成为此类产品中最常见的添加剂。对于消费者来说，薄荷醇烟草产品可能会被错误地认为对健康的危害较小，从而增加他们的消费。然而，正如证据所示，薄荷醇香烟并不比传统香烟更安全，并且在长时间接触此类产品的烟雾后，可能会导致更频繁的疾病恶化。此外，由于其与尼古丁的复杂相互作用，薄荷醇可能会影响吸烟行为，并可能增加对尼古丁的成瘾。出于这些原因，欧盟通过实施《烟草产品指令》（2014/40/EU）于 2020 年 5 月 20 日禁止了调味香烟（其销售量达到烟草产品市场总销量的 3%以上）。虽然薄荷醇禁令基于健康问题，但对消费者潜在戒烟的最终影响仍有待确定。
