TIPS ON HOW MENTHOL ADDICTION CAN YIELD TO SMOKING...

Menthol, the cooling agent in peppermint, is added to almost all
commercially available cigarettes. Menthol stimulates olfactory
sensations, and interacts with transient receptor potential
melastatin 8 (TRPM8) ion channels in cold-sensitive sensory
neurons, and transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1), an
irritant-sensing channel. It is highly controversial whether
menthol in cigarette smoke exerts pharmacological actions
affecting smoking behavior.

Using plethysmography it is noticed that the effects of menthol on the respiratory sensory
irritation response in mice elicited by smoke irritants (acrolein,
acetic acid, and cyclohexanone). Menthol, at a concentration (16
ppm) lower than in smoke of mentholated cigarettes, immediately
abolished the irritation response to acrolein, an agonist of TRPA1,
as did eucalyptol (460 ppm), another TRPM8 agonist. Menthol's
effects were reversed by a TRPM8 antagonist, AMTB. Menthol's
effects were not specific to acrolein, as menthol also attenuated
irritation responses to acetic acid, and cyclohexanone, an agonist
of the capsaicin receptor, TRPV1. Menthol was efficiently
absorbed in the respiratory tract, reaching local concentrations
sufficient for activation of sensory TRP channels. These
experiments demonstrate that menthol and eucalyptol, through
activation of TRPM8, act as potent counterirritants against a broad
spectrum of smoke constituents. Through suppression of
respiratory irritation, menthol may facilitate smoke inhalation and
promote nicotine addiction and smoking-related morbidities.

GIST CIRCLE TEAM!!!