The FDA states that more than 18.5 million people in the U.S. aged 12 or older smoke menthol cigarettes.
Notes on verification
Directly confirmed by FDA's own press release and Federal Register notice, and corroborated by independent sources (NCI, MD Anderson, Popular Science, Roll Call) citing the same FDA figure. [tier=bronze indep_score=0.539 clusters=3 claim_tier=notable]
Sources
- Mayo Clinic Minute: Why are menthol-flavored cigarettes a ... (seed:food_and_diet)
- https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-proposes-rules-prohibiting-menthol-cigarettes-and-flavored-cigars-prevent-youth-initiation (corroboration)
- https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/05/04/2022-08994/tobacco-product-standard-for-menthol-in-cigarettes (corroboration)
- https://www.cancer.gov/news-events/cancer-currents-blog/2022/fda-proposes-rule-prohibiting-menthol-cigarettes (corroboration)