The director of the Mayo Clinic nicotine dependence center says the proposed Food and Drug Administration plan to ban menthol cigarettes now under final review "would probably save hundreds of thousands of lives over the next three or four decades."

"The FDA is moving to eliminate menthol in tobacco," said Dr. J. Taylor Hays during a media call on Monday, Aug. 1. "It is long in coming, and I think it is the right move for public health."

Menthol cigarettes are manufactured when peppermint flavoring is added to some brands as a means to reduce throat irritation and harshness. It is known to increase adoption of smoking among young people.