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Menthol cigarettes now account for more than one-quarter of all cigarettes sold in the U.S. In fact, menthols often described as cooling, soothing, and smooth make up a growing share of the shrinking cigarette market. Between 2004 and 2008, the percentage of adult smokers who smoked them increased from 30 percent to 34 percent. Experts say that menthol cigarettes' minty flavor makes them more appealing to young people, more addictive, and harder to quit than regular cigarettes. Menthol is the ultimate candy flavoring, says Phillip Gardiner, a researcher at the University of California's Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program, in Oakland. The Food and Drug Administration hasn't yet decided on whether it agrees. When the FDA was given the authority to regulate tobacco products in 2009, the agency banned cigarettes with flavors such as chocolate and fruit, because candy-like cigarettes are more attractive to kids. But menthol escaped the cut. Since then, tobacco and public health experts have said that menthols should be banned, too or at least regulated more strictly. The FDA's new tobacco advisory committee is currently sifting through the evidence.